LIB  R  ARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

OF 


Receive</.WR  27  1892  -  -  , 

Accessions  No.  ^QQ^I       Shelf  No. 


THE 


TEAYELLING  BACHELOR; 


OR, 


NOTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICANS, 


BY    J.    FENIMORE    COOPER. 


COMPLETE  IN   ONE    VOLUME. 


NEW    YORK: 
STRINGER      AND      TOWNSEND, 

1857. 


TRAVELLING-  BACHELOR. 


Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania,  to  vrit: 

******     BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  nineteenth  day  of 

*L.  S.*  July,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United 

******  States  of  America,  A.  D.  1828,  CAREY,  LEA  &  CARET,  of  the 

said  district,  have  deposited  in  this  office  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  right 

whereof  they  claim  as  Proprietors,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : 

"  Notions  of  the  Americans.    Picked  up  by  a  Travelling  Bachelor." 

In  Conformity  to  the  Act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
entitled,  "  An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learning,  by  securing  the 
copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  oi 
such  copies  during  the  times  therein  mentioned."  And  also  to  the  Act 
entitled,  "  An  Act  supplementary  to  an  Act,  entitled  *  An  Act  for  the 
Encouragement  of  Learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts, 
and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the 
times  therein  mentioned,'  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts 
of  designing,  engraving,  and  etching,  historical  and  other  Prints." 
D.  CALDWELL,  Clerk  of  the 

Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania 


TO 

JOHN  CADWALLADER, 

OF  CADWALLADER, 

IN  THE 
STATE  OF  NEW-YORK,  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


WITHOUT  your  aid  and  kindness  these 
pages  could  never  have  been  written.  What 
ever  other  people  may  think  of  their  merit, 
it  is  quite  probable  that  you  and  I  believe 
they  contain  some  truths.  We  must  there 
fore  endeavour  to  keep  each  other  in  good 
humour,  provided  they  shall  happen  to  be 
neglected  rather  more  than  our  joint  opinions 
may  lead  us  to  think  they  deserve. 

Shortly  after  my  return  to  the  queen  of 
cities,  there  was  a  happy  reunion  of  all  the 
remaining  members  of  the  club.  I  know  you 
will  be  glad  to  hear,  that,  with  a  solitary 
exception,  this  embraced  every  man  whose 
name  has  stood  on  the  roll  since  its  forma- 


IV  DEDICATION. 

tion.  But,  alas!  there  is  an  exception.  The 
poor  Dane  has  fallen.  The  worthy  professor 
trusted  himself,  for  too  long  a  time,  in  seden 
tary  employments  in  a  warm  climate.  1  write 
it  with  grief,  but  he  was  married  at  Verona, 
about  eleven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
16th  August  last,  to  the  daughter  of  an  Ital 
ian  physician.  Jules  Bethizy  and  Waller 
were  both  at  Florence  when  he  was  first 
taken,  and  they  flew  to  his  assistance  with 
the  earnestness  of  a  long  tried  friendship. 
But  remedies  were  too  late.  From  the  firsl 
moment  the  symptoms  seemed  threatening ; 
and  as  the  best  advice  was  fortunately  so 
close  at  hand,  there  is  reason  to  think  the 
malady  was  perfectly  incurable.  Bethizy  has 
some  suspicions  of  foul  play,  and  makes  dark 
allusions  to  philters  and  amulets;  but  the 
father  of  the  fair  infection  solemnly  protests 
that  the  whole  is  the  effect  of  sun  and  soli 
tude.  We  have  done  all  that  remained  to 
sorrowing  friends.  An  epithalamium  has 
been  written  by  the  Russian,  and  it  was  set 
to  solemn  music  by  the  Abbate.  A  brass 
plate  has  been  let  into  the  back  of  thefauteuii 
of  the  derelict,  containing  an  appropriate 
inscription,  and  two  memento  mori  are  cut  in 
its  sides  A  wedding  ring  has  also  been 


DEDICATION  V 

attached  to  the  nose  of  the  portrait,  which, 
as  I  have  often  told  you,  is  always  suspended 
over  the  chair  of  a  member. 

The  question  of  a  successor  has  been 
deeply  agitated  among  us.  Nothing  but  the 
exceeding  liberality  which  pervades  and  col 
ours  our  meetings  could  have  insured  the 
result  which  has  grown  out  of  the  election. 
Yes,  my  friend,  the  empty  fauteuil  is  yours ; 
and,  as  I  know  you  have  destroyed  the  coat 
of  arms  of  your  European  ancestors,  I  have 
caused  a  design  of  my  own  to  be  emblazoned 
in  the  proper  place.  It  is  a  constellation  of 
twenty-four  stars,  surrounded  by  a  cloud  of 
nebulce  with  a  liberty-cap  for  a  crest,  and  two 
young  negroes  as  supporters.  I  was  obliged 
to  adopt  this  equivocal  blazonry,  in  order  to 
quiet  all  parties,  for  the  election  was  not 
without  a  struggle.  A  great  deal  was  said 
about  liberality,  but  I  believe  you  know  that 
liberality  always  infers  certain  reservations. 
The  Abbate  objected  a  good  deal  to  the 
preponderance  of  the  Protestant  interest, 
and  I  thought  Waller  was  a  little  jealous  of 
having  a  member  who  might  introduce  a 
dialect  of  his  mother  tongue.  But  Jules 
Bethizy  stood  by  you  like  a  man,  and  the 
Russian  swore  you  were  his  neighbour,  and 

A2 


Vi  DEDICATION. 

that  in  you  should  come.  In  short,  the  ques 
tion  was  carried ;  and  now  the  agony  is  over, 
both  the  Baronet  and  the  Priest  put  the  best 
possible  face  on  it. 

Come  to  us,  then,  dear  John,  as  soon  as 
you  can  tear  yourself  from  the  delights  of 
home.  We  contemplate  a  great  and  general 
movement  during  the  next  three  years'  re 
cess,  and  an  honourable  station  shall  be 
assigned  you  in  the  task  of  peregrination. 
There  is  a  good  deal  of  distrust  manifested 
by  some  unbelievers  in  our  body  concerning 
the  matter  detailed  in  my  letters ;  but  wVwi- 
porte,  thirty  years  ago  most  of  the  worthy 
members  did  not  know  the  colour  of  the  skin 
of  the  people  concerning  whom  I  have  writ 
ten.  They  who  live  thirty  years  hence  may 
live  long  enough  to  discover,  that  what  now 
seems  so  marvellous  will  then  be  deemed 
quite  a  matter  of  course. — Adieu. 


PREFACE. 


THE  writer  of  these  Letters  is  not  without  some  of  the 
Yearnings  of  paternity  in  committing  the  offspring  of  his 
brain  to  the  world.  His  chief  concern  is  that  the  book  may 
pass  as  near  as  possible  for  what  it  was  intended  in  the  de 
sign,  however  it  may  fall  short  in  the  execution. 

A  close  and  detailed  statistical  work  on  the  United  States 
of  America,  could  not  keep  its  place  as  authority  for  five 
years.  What  is  true  this  year  would  the  next  become  liable 
to  so  many  explanations,  that  the  curious  would  soon  cease 
to  consult  its  pages.  The  principles  of  the  government,  and 
the  general  state  of  society,  are  certainly  more  permanent ; 
but  the  latter  varies  rapidly  in  the  different  stages  of  a  life 
that  is  so  progressive.  Nothing  more  has,  therefore,  been 
attempted  here,  than  to  give  a  hasty  and  general  sketch  of 
most  things  of  interest,  and  to  communicate  what  is  told  in 
as  unpretending  and  familiar  a  way  as  the  subjects  them 
selves  would  conveniently  allow. 

The  facts  of  these  volumes  are  believed  to  be,  in  common , 
correct.  The  Author  claims  no  exemption  from  error ;  but 
as  he  has  given  some  thought  and  a  great  deal  of  time  to  the 
subjects  on  which  he  has  treated,  he  hopes  that  refutation 
will  not  easily  attack  him  in  the  shape  of  evidence.  His 
reasoning — if  rapid,  discursive,  and  ill-arranged  arguments 
can  aspire  to  so  high  a  name — must,  of  course,  depend  on  its 
own  value.  A  great  number  will  certainly  condemn  it,  for  it 
as  certainly  opposes  the  opinions  of  a  vast  number  of  very 
honest  people  in  Europe.  Still,  as  he  has  no  one  object  but 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

the  good  of  all  his  fellow-creatures  in  view,  he  hopes  no  un 
worthy  motive  will  be  ascribed  to  his  publication. 

A  great  number  of  readers  will  be  indisposed  to  believe 
that  the  United  States  of  America  are  of  the  importance 
which  the  writer  does  not  disguise  he  has  attempted  to  show 
that  they  are  of  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  On  this  subject 
there  must,  probably,  remain  a  diversity  of  opinion  that  time 
only  can  decide.  As  it  is  quite  probable  that  in  this  unfor 
tunate  dispute  there  will  be  many  against  him,  the  Author 
will  endeavour  to  content  himself  with  the  consideration  that 
time  is  working  much  faster  than  common  on  the  points  that 
are  most  involved  in  the  matter.  He  is  quite  satisfied  with 
the  umpire. 

There  is  a  much  graver  offence  against  the  rights  of  read 
ers  than  any  contained  in  the  opinions  of  this  work.  A  vast 
deal  has  been  printed  that  should  not  have  been,  and  much 
has  been  omitted  that  might  have  been  properly  said.  But 
circumstances  allowed  of  no  choice  between  great  and  ac 
knowledged  imperfections,  or  total  silence.  Something  of 
the  extent  of  this  demerit,  therefore,  must  depend  on  the  fact 
of  whether  enough  has  been  told  to  justify  publication  at  all. 
The  writer  has  not  treated  the  public  with  so  little  ceremony 
as  to  usher  a  work  on  their  notice  without,  at  least,  believing 
a  fair  proportion  of  this  apology  is  contained  in  its  pages. 
If  he  deceive  himself,  it  will  be  his  misfortune ;  and  if  he 
does  not  deceive  his  readers,  he  shall  rejoice. 

The  circumstances  to  which  allusion  has  just  been  made, 
involve  haste  in  printing  no  less  than  haste  in  selection. 
There  are  errors  of  style,  and  some  faults  of  grammar,  that 
are  perhaps  the  mutual  neglect  of  the  author,  the  copyists, 
and  the  printers.  The  word  «  assured  "  is,  for  instance,  used 
for  "  insured,"  and  adverbs  have,  in  several  cases,  been  con 
verted  into  adjectives.  In  one  or  two  instances,  negatives 
have  been  introduced  where  it  was  not  intended  to  use  tnem. 
But  they  who  detect  most  of  these  blunders  will  know  how 
to  make  allowances  for  their  existence ;  and  to  those  who  do 


PREFACE.  IX 

not,  it  will  be  a  matter  of  but  little  interest.  The  Author 
has  far  less  ambition  to  be  thought  a  fine  writer,  than  to  be 
thought  an  accurate  observer  and  a  faithful  narrator  of  what 
he  has  witnessed. 

It  will  be  seen  that  much  use  has  been  made  of  the  opin 
ions  and  information  of  a  native  American.  Without  some 
such  counsellor,  the  facts  of  this  book  could  never  have  been 
collected.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  Christian  country  on  earth 
in  which  a  foreigner  is  so  liable  to  fall  into  errors  as  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  The  institutions,  the  state  of 
society,  and  even  the  impulses  of  the  people,  are  in  some 
measure  new  and  peculiar.  The  European,  under  such  cir 
cumstances,  has  a  great  deal  to  unlearn  before  he  can  begin 
to  learn  correctly. 

America  has  commonly  been  viewed  in  the  exceptions 
rather  than  in  the  rules.  This  is  a  common  fault  with  all 
travellers,  since  it  at  once  gratifies  their  spleen  and  indulges 
their  laziness.  It  is  a  bad  compliment  to  human  nature,  but 
not  the  less  true,  to  say  that  no  young  traveller  enters  a  for 
eign  country  without  early  commencing  the  task  of  invidious 
comparison.  This  is  natural  enough,  certainly,  for  we  in 
stantly  miss  the  things  to  which  we  have  been  accustomed, 
and  which  may  owe  half  their  value  to  use ;  and  it  requires 
time  and  habit  to  create  new  attachments.  This  trait  of 
character  is  by  no  means  confined  to  Europe.  The  writer 
can  assure  his  contemporaries,  that  few  men  travel  among 
foreign  nations  with  a  more  laudable  disdain  than  the  native 
of  the  States  of  which  these  volumes  treat.  He  has  his  joke 
and  his  sneer,  and  not  unfrequently  his  reason,  as  well  as  the 
Veriest  petit-mditre  of  the  Thuilleries,  or  any  exquisite  of  a 
London  club-house  Ere  long  he  will  begin  to  make  books 
too ;  and  as  he  has  an  unaccommodating  manner  of  separat 
ing  the  owner  from  the  soil,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  may 
find  a  process  by  which  he  will  give  all  due  interest  to  the 
recollections  of  former  ages,  while  he  pays  a  passing  tribute 
to  this. 


X  PREFACE. 

The  writer  has  not  the  smallest  doubt  that  many  orthodox 
unbelievers  will  listen  to  what  he  has  said  of  America  in  thia 
work,  with  incredulous  ears.  He  invites  ail  such  stout  ad 
herents  to  their  own  preconceived  opinions,  to  submit  to  a 
certain  examination  of  facts  that  are  perfectly  within  their 
reach.  He  would  propose  that  they  inquire  into  the  state  of 
America  as  it  existed  fifty  years  ago,  and  that  they  then  com 
pare  it  with  its  present  condition.  After  they  have  struck  a 
balance  between  the  two  results,  they  can  safely  be  left  to 
their  own  ruminations  as  to  the  probability  of  a  people,  as 
barbarous,  as  ignoTant,  and  as  disorganized,  as  they  have 
been  accustomed  to  consider  the  Americans,  being  very  likely 
to  work  such  miracles.  When  they  have  honestly  come  to 
a  conclusion,  it  is  possible  they  may  be  disposed  to  give  some 
credit  to  the  contents  of  the  following  pages. 

It  is  not  pretended  that  the  actual  names  of  the  individuals 
to  whom  these  letters  are  addressed  are  given  in  the  text. 
It  is  hoped  that  eight  or  ten  single  gentlemen  can  meet  once 
in  three  years  in  a  club,  and  that  they  can  pass  the  inter 
mediate  time  in  journeying  about  the  world,  occasionally 
publishing  a  few  ideas  on  what  they  have  seen,  without  being 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  doing  so  much  violence  to  their 
modesty  as  to  call  each  other  unequivocally  by  their  proper 
appellations.  Had  they  not  been  disposed  to  lives  of  free 
comment  and  criticism,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  they 
would  have  all  been  married  men  these years. 

One  more  word  on  the  subject-matter  of  these  pages,  and 
the  writer  will  commit  them  to  the  judgment  of  his  readers 
without  further  interruption.  In  producing  a  work  on  the 
United  States,  the  truth  was  to  be  dealt  with  fearlessly,  or  the 
task  had  better  be  let  alone.  In  such  a  country,  existing  facts 
are,  however,  of  consequence  only  as  they  are  likely  to  affect 
the  future.  It  is  of  little  moment  to  know  that  so  many  houses 
are  in  a  town,  or  so  many  straw  beds  in  such  a  house,  when 
premises  are  at  hand  to  demonstrate  clearly,  that  in  a  year  or 
two  the  roofs  of  the  city  will  be  doubled,  and  the  inmates  of 


PREFACE.  XI 

the  dwelling  will  repose  on  down.  The  highest  compliment 
that  is,  or  that  can  be,  paid  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  is  paid  by  writers,  who  are  evidently  guilty  of  their 
politeness  under  any  other  state  of  feeling  than  that  of  com 
placency.  The  Englishman,  for  instance  (he  is  quoted,  be 
cause  the  most  industrious  hi  the  pursuit,)  lands  in  America, 
and  he  immediately  commences  the  work  of  comparison  be 
tween  the  republics  and  his  own  country.  He  is  careful 
enough  to  avoid  all  those  topics  which  might  produce  an  un 
favourable  result  (and  they  are  sufficiently  numerous),  but  he 
instantly  seizes  on  some  unfortunate  tavern,  or  highway,  or 
church,  or  theatre,  or  something  else  of  the  kind,  which  he 
puts  in  glaring  contrast  with,  not  the  worst,  nor  the  middling, 
but  the  best  similar  object  in  his  own  country.  Really  there 
must  be  something  extraordinary  in  a  people,  who,  having 
had  so  much  to  do,  and  so  very  short  a  time  to  do  it  in,  have 
already  become  the  subjects,  not  only  of  envy,  but  of  a  seem 
ingly  formidable  rivalry,  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  wealthiest 
nations  of  Europe !  It  strikes  the  writer,  that,  while  these 
gentlemen  are  so  industriously  struggling  to  prove  the  exist 
ence  of  some  petty  object  of  spleen,  they  prove  a  great  moral 
truth  in  favour  of  America.  What  should  we  think  of  the 
boy  whose  intellect,  and  labours,  and  intelligence,  were  drawn 
into  bold  and  invidious  comparison  with  those  of  aged  and 
experienced  men ! 

The  writer  has  said  very  little  on  the  subject  of  the  ordi 
nary  vices  of  mankind ;  for  he  has  hoped  that  no  one  will 
read  his  book,  who  has  yet  to  learn  that  they  exist  every 
where.  If  any  one  shall  suppose  that  he  wishes  to  paint  the 
people  of  America  as  existing  in  a  state  superior  to  human 
passion,  free  from  all  uncharitableness  and  guile,  he  takes  the 
liberty  to  assure  him  he  will  fall  into  an  egregious  blunder. 
He  has  not  yet  met  with  such  an  elysium  in  his  travels. 

If  the  bile  of  any  one  shall  be  stirred  by  the  anticipations 
in  which  the  writer  has  indulged  in  favour  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  he  shall  be  sorry ;  but  as  he  cannot  see 


Xll  PREFACE. 

how  the  truth  is  to  be  affected,  or  the  fortunes  of  A  gre* 
people  materially  varied,  by  the  dissatisfaction  of  this  or  that 
individual,  ne  has  thought  it  safest  for  his  own  reputation  to 
say  what  he  thinks,  without  taking  the  pains  to  ascertain  to 
how  many  it  may  be  agreeable,  or  to  how  many  disagreeable. 
He  has  avoided  personalities,  and  that,  as  a  traveller,  is  all  he 
feels  bound  to  do,  and  hopes  he  shall  always  do ;  for  he  is  not 
of  that  impertinent  class,  who  think  the  world  cannot  be  suf 
ficiently  enlightened  without  invading  the  sacred  precincts  of 
private  life 


.  fyc. 


TO  SIR  FREDERICK  WALLER,  BART 

OF  SOMERSETSHIRE,  ENGLAND. 


Liverpool,  England,  July  22d,  1824. 
DEAR  WALLER, 

You  are  to  express  no  astonishment  at  the  place 
where  this  letter  is  dated.  I  confess  the  engagement 
to  meet  you  under  the  walls  of  the  Seraglio  ;  but  hear 
me,  before  the  sin  of  forgetfulness  shall  be  too  hastily 
imputed  to  my  charge.  You  know  the  inveterate 
peregrinating  habits  of  the  club,  and  can  judge,  from 
your  own  besetting  propensity  to  change  your  resi 
dence  monthly,  how  difficult  it  might  prove  to  resist 
the  temptation  of  traversing  a  soil  that  is  still  virgin,  so 
far  as  the  perambulating  feet  of  the  members  of  our 
fraternity  are  concerned.  In  a  word,  I  am  here, 
awaiting  the  packet  for  America.  Before  you  get 
this  letter,  the  waters  of  one  half  of  the  Atlantic  will 
roll  between  us.  This  resolution,  seemingly  so  sud 
den,  has  not,  however,  been  taken  without  much  and 
mature  thought. 

Cosmopolites,  and  searchers  of  the  truth,  as  we 
boast  ourselves,  who,  of  all  our  number,  has  ever  turn 
ed  his  steps  towards  a  quarter  (I  had  almost  written 
half)  of  the  globe,  where  new  scenes,  a  state  of  so 
ciety  without  a  parallel,  even  in  history,  and  so  much 
that  is  fresh,  both  in  the  phvsical  and  moral  world, 


2  MEETING  WITH  A  TRAVELLING  COMPANION. 

invite  our  attention?  This  reproach  shall  exist  no 
longer.  If  resentment  against  so  much  apparent 
fickleness  can  refrain  the  while,  read,  and  you  shall 
know  the  reasons  why  you  are  left  to  wander,  alone, 
through  the  streets  of  Pera,  and  to  endure  sullen 
looks,  from  haughty  Turks,  without  the  promised  sup 
port  of  your  infidel  companion. 

On  the  road  between  Moscow  and  Warsaw,  I 
encountered  a  traveller  from  the  states  of  North 
America.  He  was  about  to  end  a  long  pilgrimage,  in 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  and  to  return,  eager  as 
a  discharged  Swiss,  to  the  haunts  of  his  youth,  in 
the  other  hemisphere.  He  appeared  like  one  who 
was  wearied  with  the  selfishness,  struggles,  and  fac 
titious  distinctions  of  our  eastern  regions.  Truly, 
there  was  something  so  naif,  and  yet  so  instructed — 
so  much  that  was  intellectual,  and  withal  so  simple — 
a  little  that  was  proud,  blended  with  something  phi 
losophical,  in  the  temperament  and  manner  of  this 
western  voyager,  that  he  came  over  my  fancy  with 
the  freshness  of  those  evening  breezes,  for  which  you 
will  be  shortly  panting,  on  the  shores  of  the  Darda 
nelles.  To  be  serious,  he  was  an  educated  and  a  gift 
ed  man,  with  a  simplicity  of  thought,  as  well  as  of  de 
portment,  that  acted  like  a  charm  on  my  exhausted 
feelings.  You  are  not  to  suppose  that,  at  fifty,  I  have 
fallen  into  the  errors  of  five-and-twenty,  and,  that  I 
am  about  to  become,  again,  a  convert  to  thrice-worn- 
out  opinions,  new  vamped,  under  the  imposing  name 
of  philosophy.  The  word  has  never  escaped  the  lips 
of  Cadwallader  (for  so  is  my  new  acquaintance  call 
ed),  even  in  the  gravest  of  his  moods. 

An  evening,  passed  in  the  company  of  this  Ameri 
can,  at  a  miserable  post-house  on  the  frontiers  of  Po 
land,  only  furnished  a  zest  for  the  week  in  which  it 
was  agreed  we  should  travel  together.  At  the  end  of 
that  week,  my  resolution  was  taken.  I.  had  heard  so 
much  to  excite  curiosity — so  much  to  awaken  thought, 


A  TRAVELLING  ARRANGEMENT.  3 

in,  channels  entirely  new,  that  nothing  short  of  a  voy 
age  across  the  Atlantic  can  appease  my  longings. 

Neither  are  you  to  be  too  hasty  in  believing,  that 
my  companion  has  been  soothing  my  ears  with  Ara 
bian  imagery.  Nothing  can  be  farther  from  the  truth. 
He  is  saturnine  by  nature,  and.  a  Frenchman  might 
add,  taciturn  to  a  fault.  From  a  certain  expression 
of  melancholy,  that  often  overshadows  his  counte 
nance,  I  should  think  he  had  long  been  familiar  with 
regrets,  which,  from  their  nature,  must  be  unceasing. 
Still,  I  find  great  equanimity  of  temper,  and  the  same 
calm,  deliberative  manner  of  considering  things,  as 
if  he  deemed  himself  already  removed  from  most  of 
the  great  and  moving  interests  of  the  world.  Perhaps 
these  peculiar  and  individual  qualities,  in  some  mea 
sure,  quickened  the  desire  I  felt  to  examine  his 
country.  I  would  give  much,  to  know  his  private  his 
tory  ;  but  I  never  before  associated  with  one  who 
was,  at  the  same  time,  so  communicative,  and,  yet,  so 
reserved. 

In  short,  I  found  this  calm,  reasoning  American  so 
fresh,  so  original  in  his  way  of  treating  things,  which 
long  use  had  rendered,  to  my  imagination,  fixed  and 
unalterable  as  the  laws  of  nature  themselves,  and  so 
direct  in  the  application  of  all  his  opinions  to  the  prac 
tices  of  the  world,  that  I  early  became  alive  to  the 
desire  of  examining  a  state  of  society,  which,  I  am 
fond  of  believing,  must  have  had  some  influence  in 
giving  birth  to  so  much  independence  and  manliness 
of  thought. 

Before  we  had  reached  the  Rhine,  it  was  arranged 
between  us,  that  we  should  cross  the  ocean  together ; 
and  Cadwallader  promised  me  his  assistance  and 
advice,  in  making  the  preparations  that  might  be 
necessary,  to  render  the  journey  both  convenient  and 
profitable. 

You  will  readily  imagine,  that,  with  the  intention 
of  passing  a  year  or  two  in  the  republics  of  North 


4  ENGLISH  WORKS  ON  AMERICA. 

America,  my  curiosity  to  investigate  their  history  and 
institutions  has  not  been  suffered  to  slumber.  While 
in  London,  no  opportunity  of  inquiring  into  the  char 
acter  of  the  people,  or  of  supplying  myself  with  mat 
ter  of  proper  preliminary  study,  was  neglected.  As  I 
believed  the  English  must,  of  necessity,  possess  a  bet 
ter  knowledge  of  their  transatlantic  kinsmen  than  any 
other  people  in  Europe,  I  was  diligent  in  storing  my 
memory  with  such  facts,  gleaned  from  the  most  ap 
proved  authorities,  as  might  aid  and  direct  my  inqui 
ries.  By  dint  of  extraordinary  exertions,  I  soon  suc 
ceeded  in  collecting  a  little  library  of  travels,  pam 
phlets,  and  political  dissertations.  This  collection 
was  scrupulously  kept  a  secret  until  complete,  when, 
anxious  to  impress  my  companion  with  a  favourable 
opinion  of  my  earnestness  in  the  research,  an  early 
opportunity  was  taken  to  lay  the  result  before  him, 
in  the  shape  of  a  handsome  display  on  the  shelves  of 
a  book-case.  Cadwallader  ran  his  eye  coolly  over 
the  titles,  and,  after  saying  a  few  words  in  commen 
dation  of  my  zeal,  he  appeared  disposed  to  leave  me 
to  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  my  acquisitions.  I  was 
struck  with  the  singular  air  of  indifference,  to  give  it 
no  harsher  term,  with  which  he  regarded  the  fruits  of 
my  hard  labour,  and  was  not  slow  to  ascribe  it  to  the 
fact,  that  I  had  omitted  those  works  of  native  origin, 
which  treated  on  the  same  subject.  In  order  to  re 
move  any  unfavourable  impressions  on  this  point, 
something  was  muttered  concerning  regrets  at  not 
being  able  to  procure  American  books  at  such  a  dis 
tance  from  the  place  where  they  were  printed,  with  an 
intimation,  that  on  our  arrival  at  New-York,  my  travel 
ling  library  would  of  course  be  completed.  Still  no  sign 
of  interest  was  elicited  from  the  cold  eye  of  my  com 
panion.  He  left  me  with  another  compliment  to  my 
industry,  which,  I  am  obliged  to  confess,  was  pointed 
with  so  much  supererogatory  courtesy,  as  to  savour  a 
little  of  sarcasm.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  by  this 


AN  HONEST  TRAVELLER.  5 

silent  but  intelligible  criticism,  no  time  was  lost  in 
fuming  the  new  acquisitions  to  a  profitable  account. 
Our  stay  in  London  was  unavoidably  prolonged  to 
tbree  weeks,  and  by  the  expiration  of  that  time  I  had 
travelled  over  no  small  portion  of  the  American  ter 
ritory,  again  and  again,  on  paper,  and  at  rates,  too, 
that  would  not  have  done  discredit  to  the  time-saving 
authors  of  the  books  themselves.  In  short,  the  opin 
ions  of  some  six  or  seven  English  commentators  on 
American  society  and  morals,  were  devoured  so  very 
greedily,  as  to  leave  little  or  no  leisure  for  a  proper 
digestion  of  the  knowledge  they  imparted.  But,  once 
possessed  of  sufficient  matter  for  reflection,  a  voyage 
of  three  thousand  miles  will  afford  abundant  leisure 
for  rumination  and  digestion. 

Our  arrival  at  this  place  had  been  so  timed,  as  to 
precede  the  departure  of  the  packet  by  a  few  days. 
The  intervening  period  has  given  us  an  opportunity 
to  complete  the  most  minute  of  our  arrangements, 
among  which  I  have  ever  kept  in  view  the  important 
object  of  acquiring  that  information  which  may  be  use 
ful  in  my  contemplated  journey  by  land.  A  Liverpool 
banker,  to  whom  1  had  early  spoken  on  the  subject, 
placed  in  my  hands  two  volumes  of  travels  in  America, 
written  by  a  merchant  of  this  city,  of  the  name  of 
Hodgson,  in  which  he  gave  me  reason  to  believe  I 
should  find,  mingled  with  a  large  portion  of  good  sense, 
far  more  liberality  than  it  was  usual  to  meet  in  the 
works  of  his  countrymen  when  writing  on  the  subject 
of  their  republican  relatives.  You  are  not  to  frown, 
dear  Waller,  when  1  add,  that  even  my  own  dulness 
had  already  been  able  to  detect,  in  the  contents  of 
most  of  my  newly  acquired  treasures,  a  certain  dis 
torted  manner  of  viewing  ar  d  of  portraying  things, 
which  struck  me  as  manifesting  a  remarkable  attach 
ment  to  caricature.  This  amiable  peculiarity  may 
perhaps  furnish  a  sufficiently  intelligible  clue  to  the 
small  favour  that  the  books  seemed  to  enjoy  in  the 
B  2 


6  OPINIONS  OF  AN  AMERICAN. 

eyes  of  Cadwallader.  Under  the  expectation  that 
the  work  of  Mr.  Hodgson  would  afford  him  pleasure, 
I  laid  it  on  the  table  of  my  companion,  and  begged 
that  he  would  bestow  on  its  perusal  a  few  of  those 
hours  for  which  I  knew  he  had  no  very  urgent  em 
ployment. 

It  was  morning  when  he  was  put  in  possession  of 
the  book,  and  the  day  was  purposely  permitted  to 
pass  without  any  interruption  from  me.  Late  at  night, 
1  entered  his  apartment,  and  found  him  occupied  in 
sealing  a  note  directed  to  myself.  As  this  letter  may 
be  supposed  to  contain  the  sentiments  of  an  intelli 
gent  American  on  a  subject  which  may  not  be  with 
out  its  interest,  I  shall  freely  copy  it.  It  may  pos 
sibly  contain  expressions  that  are  not  quite  in  unison 
with  the  temper  of  an  Englishman  ;  but  you,  as  a  man 
of  the  world,  will  know  how  to  tolerate  independence 
of  feeling,  and  are  far  too  wise  to  neglect  any  favour 
able  opportunity  of  acquiring  information  that  may, 
in  the  course  of  events,  very  speedily  become  useful. 

I  may  have  misconceived  your  interest  in  this  note  ; 
still  it  is  curious,  as  containing  the  opinions  of  a  per 
fectly  disinterested,  and  certainly  an  instructed  Amer 
ican.  It  may  also  serve  for  a  sort  of  preface  to  my 
own  disjointed  correspondence,  the  scattered  frag 
ments  of  which  shall  be  collected  at  our  regular  tri 
ennial  meeting,  when  they  may  possibly  serve  to  en 
liven  the  gloom  of  a  December  day  in  Paris.* 

Forgive  me,  that  I  prefer  the  rising  stars  of  the 
Western  Constellation  to  the  waning  moon  cf  your 
Turk. — Adieu. 


*  See  note  A,  at  the  end  cf  the  volume. 


TO  THE  BARON  VON  KEMPERFELT, 

CAPTAIN  IN  THE  NAVY  OF  HIS  NETHERLANDS  MAJESTY 


At  Sea,  August,  1824. 

As  I  know  that  Sir  Edward  has  given  you  a  meet- 
«ig  at  Rome,  I  shall  presume  you  acquainted  with 
the  change  in  my  plans,  no  less  than  with  the  new 
travelling  companion  with  whom  accident  has  made 
me  acquainted.  O£  all  our  associates  I  could  gladly 
have  chosen  you,  my  dear  baron,  for  a  co-adventurer 
in  this  distant  excursion.  There  is  so  much  of  the 
true  maritime  spirit  in  the  people  I  am  about  to  visit, 
that  your  experience  and  observation  would  have 
proved  both  useful  and  pleasant  assistants  to  my 
own  comparative  ignorance.  Still,  I  flatter  myself 
that  a  life  of  adventure,  and  fifty  voyages  by  sea,  fur 
nish  some  few  of  the  qualifications  necessary  for  the 
task  I  have  assumed. 

Cadwallader  took  the  direction  of  all  our  arrange 
ments  into  his  own  hands ;  and  well  has  he  discharged 
the  trust.  But  the  individual  enterprise  of  the  Ameri 
cans  has  left  very  little  of  this  nature  to  be  performed 
by  the  traveller.  Capacious,  beautiful,  and  excellent 
ships,  sail,  on  stated  days,  between  many  of  the  Eu 
ropean  ports  and  their  own  country.  This  system 
of  arrangement,  so  important  to  commercial  interests, 
and  so  creditable  to  the  efforts  of  a  young  state,  is 
said  to  be  extended  still  further.  Lines  of  packets, 
as  they  are  termed,  also  exist  between  New-York 
and  the  West  Indies,  South  America,  and  between 
most  of  the  larger  havens  of  their  own  sea-board. 
They  are  not  straitened,  filthy,  inconvenient  vessels, 
such  as  too  often  aspire  to  convey  passengers  in 
Europe ;  but  ships  that  are  not  only  commodious  to 


SHIPS'  COOKERY. 

a  degree  I  could  not  have  anticipated,  but  even 
gorgeous  in  many  of  their  ornaments  and  equipments. 
The  sea,  at  the  best,  to  those  who,  like  myself,  fail 
of  its  true  inspiration,  is  but  a  desolate  and  weary 
abiding  place ;  but,  as  much  as  possible  seems  effect 
ed  in  this  ship  towards  lulling  one  into  a  forgetfulness 
of  its  disagreeables.  Should  I  venture  to  hazard  a 
criticism  on  so  delicate  a  subject,  it  would  be  to  say, 
that  I  do  not  think  the  utmost  judgment  is  mani 
fested  in  the  manner  and  nature  of  our  food.  It  is 
vain  to  expect  the  dainties  of  the  land,  in  any  perfec 
tion,  when  a  thousand  miles  from  its  numberless 
facilities;  meats  and  poultries  become  meagre  and 
tasteless  at  sea,  for  want  of  room  and  exercise ;  and 
the  cookery  of  a  camboose,  can  never  equal  that  of 
a  well-ordered  and  scientific  cuisine.  There  is  a  sort 
of  coquetry  about  most  of  your  profession,  which  ren 
ders  them  ambitious  of  demonstrating  their  perfect 
equality  with  the  occupants  of  terra  Jirma.  Like  a 
beauty  on  the  decline,  they  would  fain  continue  the 
charms  of  other  days  and  other  scenes,  when  common 
sense,  which  in  these  matters  is  taste,  would  teach 
them  that  the  fitness  of  things  embraces  time  and 
place.  In  the  midst  of  sea-sickness  and  nausea,  the 
stomach  is  not  very  craving  for  old  acquaintances, 
though  it  might  be  tempted  by  the  instigation  of 
novelties.  On  this  principle,  I  think,  always  with 
deep  and  reverential  deference,  that  you  sailors, 
especially  in  passages  that  do  not  exceed  a  month, 
should  endeavour  to  purchase  your  culinary  renown 
by  sea-pies  and  chowders,  and  other  dishes  that  are 
in  good  nautical  keeping,  instead  of  emulating  the 
savoury  properties  of  roast  beef  and  poulets,  in  lame 
and  tasteless  imitations.  Enough,  however,  on  a  sub 
ject  that  a  landsman  can  never  approach,  but  he  is 
suspected  of  an  intention  of  literally  taking  the  "bread 
out  of  your  mouths." 

At  Liverpool  I  was  struck  with   the  number  of 


AMERICAN  COMMERCE. 


vessels  that  bore  the  American  ensign.  By  far  the 
greater  part  of  the  immense  trade  which  exists  be 
tween  England  and  the  United  States,  is  carried  on 
from  that  port ;  and  it  was  evident  to  the  senses,  (a 
fact  which  inquiry  has  served  to  corroborate),  that 
an  undue  proportion,  or  rather  disproportion,  of  that 
trade,  is  conducted  under  the  flag  of  the  latter  coun-^ 
try.  No  political  restrictions,  to  prevent  a  perfect 
reciprocity  of  commercial  rights,  being  in  existence, 
this  simple  circumstance  is  almost  enough,  in  itself,  to 
establish  the  ability  of  the  American,  to  compete  suc 
cessfully  with  the  Englishman,  in  navigation.  As  the 
subject  is  replete  with  interest,  and  most  probably 
pregnant  with  facts  that  may  much  sooner  than  is 
now  dreamed  of,  effect  a  division  (if  not  a  transfer)  of 
the  commerce,  and  consequently  of  the  wealth  of  the 
civilized  world,  most  of  my  time,  during  the  passage, 
has  been  devoted  to  its  investigation.  Cadwallader 
is  not  only  well  supplied  with  documents,  but  he  is 
rich  in  knowledge  and  experience  on  matters  that  re 
late  to  his  own  country ;  and,  by  his  aid,  there  is 
some  reason  to  believe  my  industry  on  this  occasion, 
at  least,  has  not  been  entirely  thrown  away.  Worth 
less,  or  not,  such  as  it  is  I  shall  offer  its  results,  with 
proper  humility,  to  the  inspection  of  your  professional 
criticism.  To  you,  who  are  known  to  indulge  in 
such  flattering  views  of  the  future,  when  allusion  is 
made  to  the  golden  days  of  De  Ruyter  and  Van 
Tromp,  the  subject  may  have  a  charm  of  its  own. 

The  tendency  to  the  sea,  which  the  American  has 
manifested  since  the  earliest  of  the  colonial  establish 
ments,  is,  no  doubt,  to  be  ascribed  originally  to  the 
temper  of  his  ancestors.  Nothing  can  be  more  ab 
surd,  however,  than  to  argue,  that  although  peculiar 
circumstances  drew  him  on  the  ocean,  during  the 
continuance  of  the  late  and  general  hostilities,  he  will 
return  to  his  fertile  valleys  and  vast  prairies,  now  that 
competitors  for  the  profits  of  commerce  and  naviga- 


10  AMERICAN    NAVIGATION. 

tion  are  arising  among  the  former  belligerents.  The 
argument  implies  an  utter  ignorance  of  history,  no 
less  than  of  the  character  and  sagacity  of  a  people 
who  are  never  tardy  to  discover  their  individual  in 
terests.  It  is,  notwithstanding,  often  urged  with  so 
much  pertinacity,  as  to  savour  much  more  of  the  con 
clusions  of  what  we  hope  for,  than  of  what  our  reason 
would  teach  us  to  believe.  The  fact  is,  there  never 
has  been  a  period,  since  society  was  first  firmly  organ 
ized  in  their  country,  when  the  Anglo-Americans  have 
not  possessed  a  tonnage  greater,  in  proportion  to  their 
population  and  means,  than  that  of  any  other  people, 
some  of  the  small  commercial  cities,  perhaps,  alone 
excepted.  This  was  true,  even  previously  to  their 
revolution,  when  the  mother  country  monopolized  all 
of  trade  and  industry  that  the  temper  of  the  colonies 
would  bear,  and  it  is  true  now,  to  an  extent  of  which 
you  have  probably  no  suspicion.  The  present  popu 
lation  of  the  United  States  may  be  computed  at 
3  2,000,000,  while  the  amount  of  shipping  materially 
exceeds  1 ,400,000  tons.*  Assuming  that  amount,  how 
ever,  it  gives  one  ton  to  every  eight  and  a  half  of  the 
inhabitants.  The  tonnage  of  the  British  empire  is  in 
round  numbers,  2,500,000.  This,  divided  among  the 
23,000,000  of  tbe  British  islands  alone,  would  give 
but  one  ton  to  every  nine  of  the  inhabitants.  In  this 
calculation  the  vast  difference  in  wealth  is  forgotten. 
But  by  the  British  Empire,  we  are  to  understand 
Canada,  the  West  Indies,  and  all  the  vast  possessions 
which  are  tributary  to  the  wealth  and  power  of  that 
great  nation.  I  know  not  whether  the  shipping  em 
ployed  in  the  East  Indies  ought  to  be  enumerated  in 
the  amount  named.  If  it  is,  you  will  see  the  dispro 
portion  in  favour  of  America  is  enormous.  But  assum 
ing  that  it  is  not,  it  becomes  necessary  to  add  several 
million?  for  their  other  dependencies.  There  is,  how 

*  On  the  30th  Dec.  1826,  it  had  swelled  to  1,534,000. 


EFFECTS  OF  THE  NAVIGATION  LAWS.  11 

ever,  still  another  point  of  view  in  which  this  com 
parison  should,  with  strict  justice,  be  made.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  so 
situated,  that  in  the  nature  of  things  they  cannot  turn 
much,  if  any,  of  their  attention  to  navigation.  If  the 
slaves  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  states,  where  the 
establishments  are  still  too  infant,  to  admit  of  such  a 
developementof  their  resources,  be  deducted  from  the 
whole  amount  of  the  population,  it  will  not  leave 
more  than  7,000,000  of  souls  in  possession  of  those 
districts  in  which  navigation  can  be  supposed  at  all  to 
exist  The  latter,  too,  will  include  all  those  states 
that  are  called  interior,  where  time  has  not  been  given 
to  effect  any  thing  like  a  natural  division  of  the  em 
ployments  of  men.  The  result  will  show,  that  the 
Americans,  relatively  considered,  are  addicted  to  nav 
igation,  as  compared  with  Great  Britain,  in  the  pro 
portion  of  more  than  seven  to  five  -,  nor  has  this  com 
mercial,  or  rather  maritime  spirit  arisen  under  auspices 
so  encouraging  as  is  generally  imagined. 

The  navigation  laws,  adopted  by  the  United  States, 
so  soon  as  their  present  constitution  went  into  opera 
tion,  are  generally  known.  Their  effect  was  to  bring 
the  shipping  of  the  country  into  instant  competition 
with  that  of  foreign  nations,  from  the  state  of  tempo 
rary  depression  into  which  it  had  been  thrown  by  the 
struggle  of  the  Revolution.  From  that  hour,  the 
superiority  enjoyed  by  the  American,  in  cheapness 
of  construction,  provisions  and  naval  stores,  aided  by 
the  unrivalled  activity,  and  practical  knowledge  of 
the  population,  put  all  foreign  competition  at  defiance. 
Of  606,000  tons  of  shipping  employed  in  1790,  in  the 
foreign  trade  of  the  country,  not  less  than  251,000 
tons  were  the  property  of  strangers.  In  1794,  while 
the  trade  employed  611,000  tons,  but  84,000  tons 
were  owned  by  foreigners.  In  1820  (a  year  of  great 
depression)  the  trade  gave  occupation  to  880,000  tons, 
of  which  no  more  than  79,000  tons  were  foreign  prop- 


12  DISPOSITION  TO  THE  SEA. 

erty.  This  estimate,  however,  includes  the  intercourse 
with  the  least,  no  less  than  that  with  the  most  maritime 
nation.  The  trade  between  the  United  States  and 
England,  which  is  the  most  important  of  all,  in  respect 
of  the  tonnage  it  employs,  was  about  three  to  one,  in 
favour  of  the  former ;  with  other  countries  it  varies 
according  to  the  maritime  character  of  the  people, 
but  with  all  and  each  it  is  altogether  in  favour  of  the 
United  States. 

Now,  one  would  think  these  simple  facts,  which 
have  withstood  the  tests  of  colonial  policy,  and  of 
political  independence ;  of  peace  and  of  war ;  of  a 
fair  and  of  a  specious  neutrality ;  of  open  violence 
and  of  self-imposed  restrictions,  for  more  than  a  cen 
tury,  might  be  deemed  conclusive  of  the  ability  no  less 
than  of  the  disposition  of  the  Americans  to  continue 
what  they  now  are — a  people  more  maritime  in  their 
habits  and  pursuits,  compared  with  their  numbers, 
than  any  that  exist,  or  who  have  ever  gone  before 
them.  Still  there  are  real  or  pretended  sceptics.  It 
is  contended  that  a  continental  nation,  possessed  of 
territories  so  vast,  and  which  are  peopled  by  so  spare 
a  population,  cannot  continue  in  pursuits  to  which 
nature  and  interest  present  so  many  obstacles.  The 
proposition  is  somewhat  as  if  one  should  say,  Russia 
is  a  country  of  extensive  territory,  that  is  but  thinly 
peopled,  and  so  is  America-  Now,  as  Russia  is  not, 
neither  therefore  can  America  be  maritime.  Nor  are 
the  arguments  by  which  this  singular  proposition  is 
supported,  less  absurd  than  the  position  itself.  Not 
withstanding  the  obstinate,  glaring,  and  long-continued 
fact,  that  the  American  has  and  does  neglect  the  tillage 
of  his  virgin  forests,  in  order  to  seek  more  congenial 
sources  of  wealth  on  the  ocean,  one  hears  it  hotly 
contended  every  day,  that  this  state  of  things  has-  been 
created  by  adventitious  circumstances,  and  must  cease 
as  the  influence  of  those  circumstances  ceases,  and 
that  of  others  shall  come  into  action.  You  are  told 


DISPOSITION  TO  THE  SEA.  13 

that  America  has  such  an  interior  of  fertile  plains  as 
belongs  to  few  nations ;  but  you  are  not  reminded  by 
these  partisans,  that  she  also  possesses  such  an  extent 
of  coast,  such  rivers,  such  bays,  and  such  a  number 
of  spacious  and  commodious  havens,  as  are  the  prop 
erty  of  no  other  people.  If,  in  reply,  you  venture  to 
say  that  as  England,  for  so  long  a  time  the  most  com 
mercial  and  maritime  nation  of  the  world,  is  indebted 
to  her  civil  and  religious  liberty  for  the  character  of 
industry  and  enterprise  that  she  has  so  well  earned, 
so  must  America,  possessing  these  inestimable  bless 
ings  in  a  still  greater  degree,  arrive  at  a  still  greater 
degree  of  commercial  and  maritime  prosperity,  the 
answer  is  ready.  England  is  an  island,  and  she  has 
an  overflowing  population.  Java  and  Japan,  Ceylon 
and  Madagascar,  Sicily  and  Zealand,  and  hundreds 
of  others,  are  just  as  much  islands  as  Great  Britain. 
It  is  therefore  clear,  something  more  than  a  mere 
insular  situation  is  necessary  to  induce  a  people  to 
become  maritime,  since  there  is  a  superabundance 
of  population  in  all  the  islands  just  named.  England 
herself  was  not  eminently  maritime  until  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  when  the  influence  of  that  civil  and  religi 
ous  liberty  which  has  made  her  what  she  is,  began  to 
be  felt  fairly  and  generally  in  the  realm.  So  late  as 
the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  the  "world-seeking  Genoese'* 
was  compelled  to  find  a  patroness  to  his  mighty  enter 
prise  in  the  queen  of  an  interior  province  of  the  Span 
ish  Peninsula!  Though  Turkey  in  Europe  is  not 
actually  washed  by  the  water  on  every  side,  still  there 
are  few  countries  (including  Greece)  that  possess  so 
many  natural  advantages  for  commerce  and  navigation. 
That  her  flag  is  not  now  seen  in  every  sea,  is  to  be 
ascribed  more  to  the  mental  darkness  which  envelops 
her  empire,  than  to  the  immaterial  fact  that  nature 
has  forgotten  to  run  a  strait  between  the  Euxine 
and  the  Adriatic.  France  lies  on  two  seas,  and  has 
long  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  science  and  great 


14  DISPOSITION  TO  THE  SEA. 

intelligence ;  and  yet  France,  considered  with  refer 
ence  to  her  civilization  and  resources,  is  but  a  second 
ary  power  in  respect  to  commerce  and  navigation. 
If  she  has  had  fleets,  they  have  not  been  the  healthful 
and  vigorous  offspring  of  her  trade,  but  were  main 
tained,  as  they  were  created,  by  the  more  sickly 
efforts  of  political  care.  Does  any  man  believe,  were 
the  Pyrenees  and  Alps  another  channel,  that  the  con 
dition  of  France,  in  this  particular,  would  be  materi 
ally  altered?  The  talents,  and  science,  and  enterprise 
of  France,  have  hitherto  been  mainly  pressed  into  the 
employment  of  the  government.  In  whatever  they 
have  arrived  at  perfection,  they  have  been  concen 
trated  in  order  to  consolidate  the  power  of  the  state, 
instead  of  being  dispersed  to  effect  that  vast  accumu 
lation  of  individual  prosperity  which  constitutes  the 
real  wealth  of  nations.  Precisely  as  the  situation  of 
England  offers  an  exception  to  this  general  rule,  just 
in  that  degree  has  there  been  a  misapplication  also 
of  her  advantages.  In  the  one  instance,  a  mighty 
aristocracy  has  been  created ;  in  the  other,  as  mighty 
a  despotism.  The  latter  country  has  now  become 
constitutional ;  and  though  she  has  to  contend  against 
long  and  inveterate  habits,  a  national  temperament 
created  by  those  habits,  and  many  of  the  obstacles  of 
what  may  almost  be  termed,  in  this  respect,  an  infant 
condition,  I  think  it  will  be  found  that  she  will  become 
more  commercial,  and  consequently  more  maritime, 
precisely  as  her  institutions  become  more  free.  The 
secret  of  all  enterprise  and  energy  exists  in  the  prin 
ciple  of  individuality.  Wealth  does  not  more  infalli 
bly  beget  wealth,  than  the  right  to  the  exercise  of  oui 
faculties  begets  the  desire  to  use  them.  The  slave  is 
every  where  indolent,  vicious,  and  abject ;  the  free 
man  active,  moral,  and  bold.  It  would  seem  that  is 
the  best  and  safest,  and,  consequently,  the  wisest  gov 
ernment,  which  is  content  rather  to  protect  than  direct 
ihe  national  prosperity,  since  the  latter  system  never 


DISPOSITION  TO  THE  SEA.  15 

fails  to  impede  the  efforts  of  that  individuality  which 
makes  men  industrious  and  enterprising.  As  all  ques 
tions  of  politics  are,  however,  so  perfectly  practical, 
I  well  know  that  in  deciding  on  particular  govern 
ments,  they  should  ever  be  considered  with  direct 
reference,  to  the  varied  conditions  into  which  abuse, 
accident,  or  wisdom,  has  cast  the  different  communi 
ties  of  the  world.  But,  if  one  can  be  found  so  favoured 
by  its  physical  advantages,  so  fortified  by  its  moral  and 
intellectual  superiority,  as  to  enable  it  to  leave  man  to 
the  freest  and  noblest  exercise  of  his  energies  and 
will,  is  it  wise,  or  is  it  even  safe,  to  deny,  merely  be 
cause  they  are  vast,  the  very  results  which  are  admit 
ted  to  be  produced,  in  a  lesser  degree,  by  a  state  of 
things  in  which  the  same  operating  causes  are  found 
to  exist  under  more  limited  modifications  ?  Herein,  as 
it  appears  to  me,  it  to  be  traced  the  real  motive  of 
that  glaring  unwillingness  to  allow  the  natural  effects 
of  the  unprecedented  liberty  of  America,  which  one 
must  be  blind  not  to  see,  has  taken  so  deep  root  in 
the  feelings  of  most  of  our  eastern  politicians.  The 
American  himself,  familiar  with  the  changes  and  im 
provements  of  his  own  time,  big  with  the  spirit  that 
has  wrought  them,  and  filled  with  the  noblest  and 
most  manly  anticipations  for  the  future,  is  derided  be 
cause  he  cannot  bring  his  wishes  to  the  level  of  the 
snail-paced  and  unnatural  progress  of  European  soci 
ety.  I  say  unnatural,  because  power,  or  necessity 
if  you  will,  has  so  heavily  cumbered  it  with  artificial 
restrictions.  I  have  had  leisure  for  some  thought, 
dear  Baron,  on  this  subject.  I  fear  it  is  a  theme  that 
is  disposed  of  with  too  little  ceremony  by  most  of  us 
who  dwell  in  the  ancient  hemisphere.  Europe,  with 
all  her  boasted  intelligence,  has  not  even  the  merit  of 
foreseeing  results  that  only  become  apparent  as  they 
force  themselves  on  her  unwilling  notice.  For  one 
I  am  determined,  in  my  own  poor  person,  to  profit  as 
much  as  may  be  by  the  situation  into  which  I  have 


16  DISPOSITION  TO  THE  SEA. 

been  accidentally  thrown.  Notwithstanding  that  I  am 
already  deeply  impressed  with  the  opinion  that  Ame 
rica  is  to  he  the  first  maritime  nation  of  the  earth,  it 
would  be  unpardonable  ignorance  to  deny  that  the 
great  causes  which  are  likely  to  induce  this  division, 
if  not  transfer,  of  commercial  ascendancy,  are  liable 
to  many  qualifying  and  counteracting  obstacles.  Most 
of  these  minor  circumstances  were  either  beyond  the 
investigations  of  a  stranger,  or  it  exceeded  my  know 
ledge  of  American  history,  to  estimate  the  extent  of 
their  influence.  With  a  view  to  throw  as  much  light 
as  possible  on  the  inquiry,  I  have  addressed  a  few 
questions  to  my  travelling  companion,  and  have  re 
ceived  his  answers,  which  are  transcribed  for  your 
benefit.  If  they  are  coloured  by  national  partialities, 
a  man  of  your  age  and  experience  ought  to  be  able 
to  detect  them ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are 
just  and  reasonable,  it  is  due  to  ourselves  and  the 
truth,  to  admit  their  force.  You  will  at  once  per 
ceive,  that,  in  putting  my  queries,  I  have  been  gov 
erned  by  those  points  which  one  hears  pressed  the 
most  when  the  European  is  willing  to  turn  his  eyes 
from  the  contemplation  of  more  interesting,  because 
more  familiar,  objects,  in  order  to  inquire  into  the  new 
order  of  things,  that  is  almost  insensibly,  though  so 
rapidly,  working  a  change  in  the  comparative  condi 
tions  of  the  different  states  of  Christendom.  You  will 
find  my  queries,  with  their  answers,  inclosed.*  Neither 
our  situations  nor  inclinations  admitted  that  the  one 
or  the  other  should  be  very  elaborate. 

There  is  a  cry  of  land,  ind  I  must  hasten  on  deck 
to  revel  in  the  cheerful  sight.    Adieu. 

*  See  note  B,  at  end  of  the  volume. 


17) 


TO  THE  BARON  VON  KEMPERFELT, 
&c.  Sec. 


New- York, 

I  THREW  aside  my  pen  abruptly,  dear  Baron,  in 
order  to  catch  a  first  view  of  America.  There  is 
something  so  imposing  in  the  sound  of  the  word — 
continent,  that  I  believe  it  had  served  to  lead  me  into 
a  delusion,  at  which  a  little  reflection  has  induced 
me  *t.o  be  the  first  to  smile.  My  ideas  of  this  remote 
and  little  known  moiety  of  the  world,  have  ever  been 
so  vague  and  general,  that  I  confess  the  folly  of  hav 
ing  expected  to  see  the  land  make  its  appearance  en 
masse,  and  with  a  dignity  worthy  of  its  imposing 
name.  The  mind  has  been  so  long  accustomed  to 
divide  the  rest  of  the  globe  into  parts,  and  to  think 
of  them  in  their  several  divisions  of  countries  and 
provinces,  that  one  expects  to  see  no  more  of  each, 
at  a  co^p  d'ceil,  than  what  the  sight  can  embrace.* 


*  The  Americans  say,  it  is  a  common  and  absurd  blunder  of 
the  European  to  blend  all  his  images  of  America  in  one  confused 
whole.  Thus  one  talks  of  the  climate  of  America!  of  the  soil 
of  America !  and  even  of  the  people  and  manners  of  America  1 
(meaning  always  the  continent  too,  and  not  the  United  States.) 
No  doubt  there  are  thousands  who  know  better ;  but  still  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  the  charge.  The  writer  was  frequently 
amused,  during  his  voyage,  by  hearing  the  passengers  (mostly 
Americans)  relate  the  ridiculous  mistakes  that  have  been  made 
by  Europeans,  otherwise  well  informed,  when  conversing  on  the 
subject  of  the  transatlantic  continent.  Countries  which  lie  on 
different  sides  of  the  equator,  are  strangely  brought  into  contact, 
and  people,  between  whom  there  is  little  affinity  of  manners,  re 
ligion,  government,  language,  or,  indeed,  of  any  thing  else,  are 
strangely  blended  in  one  and  the  same  image.  It  would  seem 
to  be  an  every-day  occurrence,  for  Americans  to  have  inquiries 
made  concerning  individuals,  estates,  or  events  which  exist,  or 
have  had  an  existence,  at  some  two  or  three  thousand  miles  from 
C2 


18         EXTRAVAGANT  EXPECTATIONS. 

Now,  ridiculous  as  it  may  seem,  I  had,  unaccount 
ably,  imbibed  the  impression  that  America  was  to  ap 
pear,  at  the  first  glance,  larger  to  the  senses  than  the 
little  island  I  had  left  behind  me.  You  are  at  perfect 
liberty  to  make  yourself  just  as  merry  as  you  please 
at  this  acknowledgment ;  but,  if  the  truth  could  be 
fairly  sifted,  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  be  found  that 
most  European  adventurers,  who  seek  these  western 
regions,  have  formed  expectations  of  its  physical  or 
moral  attributes,  quite  as  extravagant  as  was  my  own 
unfortunate  image  of  its  presence.  I  have  taken  the 
disappointment  as  a  salutary  admonition,  that  a  trav 
eller  has  no  right  to  draw  these  visionary  scenes,  and 
then  quarrel  with  the  people  he  has  come  to  visit, 
because  he  finds  that  he  has  seen  fit  to  throw  into  a 
strong  light,  those  parts  which  nature  has  every  where 
been  pleased  to  keep  in  shadow  ;  or  to  colour  highest 
the  moral  properties,  which  the  same  wise  dame  has 
sagaciously  kept  down,  in  order  that  those  qualities, 
which  it  has  been  her  greatest  delight  to  lavish  on 
man,  may  for  ever  stand  the  boldest  and  most  promi 
nent  in  her  own  universal  picture. 

Instead  of  beholding,  on  reaching  the  deck,  some 
immense  mountain,  clad  in  a  verdant  dress  of  luxu 
riant  and  unknown  vegetation,  lifting  its  tall  head  out 
of  the  sea,  and  imperiously  frowning  on  the  sister 
element,  my  first  view  was  of  that  same  monotonous 
waste  with  which  my  eyes  had  been  sated  to  weari 
ness,  during  the  last  three  weeks.  The  eager  question 
of  "  Where  is  America  ?"  was  answered  by  Cadwal- 
lader,  who  silently  pointed  to  a  little,  blue,  cloud-like 
mound,  that  rose  above  the  western  horizon  in  three 
or  four  undulating  swells,  and  then  fell  away  to  the 
north  and  to  the  south,  losing  itself  in  the  water.  1 


their  own  places  of  residence,  just  as  if  the  Dane  should  be  ex 
pected  to  answer  interrogatories  concerning  the  condition  of  a 
farm  situate  on  the  Po  ! 


FIRST  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  COAST.  19 

believe  I  should  have  expressed  my  disappointment 
aloud,  but  for  the  presence,  and,  more  particularly 
for  the  air  of  my  companion.  His  eye  was  riveted 
on  the  spot  with  all  the  fondness  of  a  child  who  is 
greeting  the  countenance  of  a  well-beloved  parent. 
It  appeared  to  me  that  it  penetrated  far  beyond 
those  little  hills  of  blue,  and  that  it  was  gifted  with 
power  to  roam  over  the  broad  valleys,  vast  lakes,  and 
thousand  rivers  of  his  native  land.  I  fancied  that  his 
philanthropic  spirit  was  deeply  enjoying  those  scenes 
of  domestic  happiness,  of  quiet,  of  abundance,  and  of 
peace,  which  he  has  so  often  assured  me  exist,  be 
yond  a  parallel,  within  her  borders.  Perhaps  a  secret 
consciousness  of  my  own  absurdity,  came  in  season, 
also,  to  prevent  so  unfortunate  an  exposure  of  my 
high-wrought  expectations. 

The  season  of  the  year,  a  soft,  balmy,  southerly 
breeze,  and  the  air  from  the  land,  however,  were  all 
present  to  restore  good-humour.  The  little  hillocks 
soon  swelled  into  modest  mountains ;  and  then  a 
range  of  low,  sandy,  and  certainly  not  inviting,  coast, 
was  gradually  rising  along  the  western  margin  of  the 
view.  The  sea  was  dotted  with  a  hundred  sails,  all 
of  which  were  either  receding  from,  or  approaching, 
a  low  point  that  was  as  yet  scarcely  visible,  and  which 
extended  a  few  miles  to  the  northward  of  the  high 
land  already  mentioned.  Beyond,  in  that  direction, 
nothing  more  was  as  yet  apparent,  than  the  tame 
view  of  the  sea.  Three  or  four  small  schooners  were 
lying  off  and  on,  under  jib  and  mainsail,  gliding  about, 
like  so  many  marine  birds  soaring  over  their  native 
waters.  From  time  to  time,  they  threw  pilots  on 
board  of,  or  received  them  from,  the  different  ships 
that  were  quitting  or  entering  the  haven  within  the 
Cape.  On  the  whole,  the  scene  was  lively,  cheei- 
ing,  and,  compared  to  the  past,  filled  with  the  most 
animating  expectations. 

It  was  not  long  before  a  beautiful  little  sloop,  of  a 


20  ASKING  FOR  NEWS. 

formation  and  rig  quite  different  from  any  I  had  evei 
before  seen,  came  skimming  the  waves  directly  in  our 
track.  Her  motion  was  swift  and  graceful,  and  likely 
to  bring  us  soon  within  speaking  distance.  It  was 
a  fishing  smack,  out  of  which  the  captain  was  dis 
posed  to  obtain  some  of  the  delicious  bass  that  are 
said  to  abound  on  certain  banks  that  lie  along  this 
coast.  We  were  disappointed  of  our  treat,  for  the 
fisherman  answered  the  signal  by  intimating  that  he 
had  sold  the  last  of  his  stock,  but  the  manoeuvres  of 
the  two  vessels  brought  us  near  enough  to  hail.  "  Is 
there  any  news  ?"  roared  the  captain,  through  his 
trumpet,  while  we  were  gliding  past  each  other.  The 
answer  came  against  the  breeze,  and  was  nearly  in 
distinct.  The  words  "  Cadmus  in,"  were,  however, 
affirmed  by  more  than  one  eager  listener,  to  form  part 
of  the  reply.  Every  body  now  pressed  about  our 
commander,  to  inquire  who  or  what  was  this  Cadmus 
and  what  he  or  she  might  be  in  ?  But  the  captain 
was  not  able  to  gratify  our  curiosity.  Cadmus  was 
the  name  of  a  ship  in  the  French  trade,  it  seemed, 
and  formed  one  in  a  line  of  packets  between  Havre 
and  New- York,  just  as  our  own  vessel  did  between 
the  latter  port  and  Liverpool.  "  It  is  not  surprising 
that  she  should  be  in,"  continued  our  honest  com 
mander,  "for  she  sailed  on  the  13th,  whereas,  we  only 
got  clear  of  the  land,  as  you  well  know,  gentlemen, 
on  the  1 8th  of  the  same  month  ;  a  passage  of  one  and 
twenty  days,  at  this  season  of  the  year,  cannot  be  called 
a  bad  one."  As  it  was  quite  evident  the  ideas  of  the 
worthy  seaman  were  in  a  channel  very  different  from 
our  own,  we  were  fain  to  wait  for  some  more  satis 
factory  means  of  arriving  at  the  truth.  Another  op 
portunity  was  not  long  wanting.  A  large  coasting 
schooner  passed  within  two  hundred  feet  of  us.  A  tar 
was  standing  on  her  quarter-deck,  both  hands  thrust 
into  the  bosom  of  his  sea-jacket,  eyeing  our  ship  with 
a  certain  understanding  air  that  need  not  be  explained 


CONJECTURES.  21 

to  one  who  claims  himself  to  be  so  promising  a  child 
of  Neptune.  This  individual  proved  to  be  the  master 
of  the  coaster,  and  to  him  our  captain  again  roared 
"Any  news?"  "Ay,  ay;  all  alive  up  in  the  bay,' 
was  the  answer.  The  vessels  were  sweeping  by  each 
other  with  tantalizing  rapidity,  and  without  paying 
the  customary  deference  to  nautical  etiquette,  some 
six  or  seven  of  the  passengers  united  in  bawling  out, 
as  with  one  voice,  "  What  news,  what  news  ?"  The 
envious  winds  again  bore  away  the  answer,  of  which 
no  more  reached  our  ears  than  the  same  perplexing 
words  of  "  Cadmus  i?  in." 

In  the  absence  of  all  certainty,  I  ventured  to  ask 
Cadwallader,  whether  an  important  election  had  not 
just  passed,  in  which  some  favourite  namesake  of  the 
founder  of  Thebes  had  proved  successful.  This  sur 
mise,  however,  was  not  treated  with  any  particular 
deference,  and  then  we  were  left  to  devise  our  own 
manner  of  explaining  the  little  we  had  heard,  by  the 
aid  of  sheer  invention. 

In  the  mean  time  the  ship  was  pressing  steadily  to 
wards  her  haven.  The  high  land  which,  in  contra 
distinction  to  tne  low,  sandy  beach,  that  extends  four 
hundreds  of  leagues  along  the  coast  of  this  country, 
has  obtained  the  name  of  "  Neversink,"  ceased  to  rise, 
and  objects  had  become  distinct  on  its  brown  acclivity. 
A  light-house  on  the  Cape  was  soon  plainly  visible, 
and  a  large  buoy  was  seen,  heaving  and  setting  with 
the  unquiet  waters,  to  mark  the  proper  entrance  to  a 
wide  bay,  that  stretched,  farther  than  the  eye  could 
reach,  to  the  westward.  Just  without  this  rolling 
beacon,  lay  a  low,  graceful,  rakish,  little  schooner,  in 
waiting  to  give  us  a  pilot.  The  wind  was  getting 
light,  and  there  was  no  necessity  to  arrest  the  progress 
of  the  ship  to  receive  this  welcome  harbinger  of  the 
comforts  of  the  land.  It  may  be  unnecessary  to  add, 
that  we  all  pressed  around  him,  in  a  body,  to  attain 


22  LA   FAYETTE. 

the  solution  of  our  recent  doubts,  and  to  hear  the 
tidings  of  another  hemisphere. 

I  was  struck  with  the  singular  air  of  exultation  with 
which  this  sturdy  marine  guide  delivered  himself  of 
the  intelligence  with  which  he  was  evidently  teem 
ing.  To  the  usual  question,  he  gave  a  quick  answer, 
and  in  nearly  the  same  language  as  the  seaman  of  the 
fishing-smack.  "  Cadmus  in,"  again  rung  in  our  ears 
without  leaving  us  any  wiser  than  before  we  had 
heard  the  inexplicable  words.  "  She  has  been  long 
enough  from  Havre,  to  be  out  again,"  retorted  our 
captain,  with  a  dryness  that  savoured  a  little  of  dis 
content.  "  If  you  think  so  much  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Cadmus  in  thirty  days,  from  France,  what  will  you  say 
to  that  of  my  ship,  in  twenty-one,  from  Liverpool?" 
"  Your  owners  may  be  glad  to  see  you,  but  then, 
you've  not  got  the  old  man  aboard."  "We  have 
them  here  of  all  ages :  and,  what  is  far' better,  some 
of  both  sexes !"  returned  one  of  the  passengers,  throw 
ing  a  glance  at  the  interested  features  of  a  beautiful 
young  creature,  who  was  eagerly  listening  to  catch 
the  syllables  that  should  first  impart  intelligence  from 
her  native  country.  "  Ay,  ay ;  but  you  have  no  La 
Fayette  in  the  ship."  "  La  Fayette  !"  echoed,  cer 
tainly  every  American  within  hearing.  "  Is  La 
Fayette  arrived  ?"  demanded  Cadwallader,  with  the 
quickness  of  lightning,  and  with  an  animation  far 
greater  than  I  had  ever  given  him  credit  for  possess 
ing.  "  That  is  he,  safe  and  well.  He  has  been  on 
the  island  with  the  vice-president  since  yesterday. 
This  morning  he  is  to  go  up  to  town,  where  he  will 
find  himself  a  welcome  guest.  The  bay  above  is 
al've,"  our  guide  concluded,  jerking  his  thumb  over 
om.-  shoulder,  and  looking  as  if  he  were  master  of  a 
secret  of  some  importance.  Here,  then,  was  a  simple 
and  brief  explanation  of  the  event  on  which  we  had 
been  exercising  our  faculties  for  the  last  two  hours. 


INTEREST  OF  THE  AMERICANS.  23 

For  myself,  I  confess,  I  was  disappointed,  expecting 
little  short  of  some  revolution  in  the  politics  of  the 
state.  But  the  effect  on  most  of  my  companions  was 
as  remarkable  as  it  was  sudden.  Cadwallader  did  not 
speak  again  for  many  minutes.  He  walked  apart ;  and 
I  saw,  by  his  elevated  head  and  proud  step,  that  the 
man  was  full  of  lofty  and  patriotic  recollections.  The 
eyes  of  the  fair  girl  just  mentioned,  were  glistening, 
and  her  pretty  lip  was  actually  quivering  with  emo 
tion.  A  similar  interest  in  the  event  was  manifested, 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  by  every  individual  in  the 
ship,  who  claimed  the  land  we  were  approaching  as 
the  country  of  his  birth.  The  captain  lost  every 
shade  of  discontent  on  the  instant,  and  even  the  na 
tive  portion  of  the  crew  suspended  their  labour  to 
listen  to  what  was  said,  with  a  general  air  of  gratifica 
tion  and  pride. 

I  will  acknowledge,  Baron,  that  I  was  touched  my 
self,  at  the  common  feeling  thus  betrayed  by  so  many 
differently  constituted  individuals ;  and,  at  so  simple 
an  occurrence.  There  was  none  of  that  noisy  accla 
mation  with  which  the  English  seamen  are  apt  to 
welcome  any  grateful  intelligence,  nor  a  single  exag 
gerated  exclamation,  like  those  which  characterize 
the  manners  of  most  of  the  continental  nations  of 
Europe,  in  their  manifestations  of  pleasure. 

It  was  not  long  ere  Cadwallader  had  taken  the 
pilot  apart,  and  was  earnestly  engaged  in  extracting 
all  the  information  he  deemed  necessary,  on  a  subject 
he  found  eo  interesting.  I  was  soon  made  acquainted 
\vith  the  result.  It  seems,  that  after  an  absence  of 
forty  years,  La  Fayette  had  returned  to  visit  the  land 
in  which  he  had  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fame. 
That  he  had  reached  a  country  where  hearts  and 
arms  would  alike  be  open  to  receive  him,  was  suffi 
ciently  manifest  in  the  manner  of  all  around  me  ;  and 
I  could  not  but  felicitate  myself,  in  being  so  fortunate 
as  to  have  arrived  at  a  moment  likely  to  elicit  some 


24  SPECULATIONS. 

of  the  stronger  emotions  of  a  people,  who  are  often 
accused  of  insensibility  to  all  lively  impressions,  and 
most  of  whose  thoughts,  like  their  time,  are  said  to 
be  occupied  in  heedful  considerations  of  the  future. 
Here  was,  at  least,  an  occasion  to  awaken  recollec 
tions  of  the  past,  and  to  elicit  something  like  a  popu 
lar  display  of  those  generous  qualities  which  consti 
tute,  what  may  not  improperly  be  called,  the  chivalry 
of  nations.  It  would  be  curious,  also,  to  observe,  how 
far  political  management  was  mingled,  in  a  perfect 
democracy,  with  any  demonstrations  of  pleasure  it 
might  be  thought  expedient  to  exhibit,  or  in  what  de 
gree  the  true  popular  sentiment  sympathized  with  feel 
ings  that,  in  one  section  of  the  earth,  are,  as  you  well 
know,  not  unfrequently  played  off  by  the  engines  of 
governmental  power. 

I  was  not  sorry,  therefore,  to  listen  to  the  plans  of 
my  companion.  A  boat,  in  the  employment  of  the 
journals  of  the  city,  was  by  this  time  alongside  the 
ship,  and  having  obtained  the  little  news  we  had  to 
impart,  it  was  about  to  return  into  the  haven,  in  or 
der  to  anticipate  the  arrival  of  the  vessel,  which  was 
likely  to  be  delayed  for  many  hours  by  a  flat  calm 
and  an  adverse  tide.  In  this  boat  it  was  proposed  that 
we  should  take  passage,  as  far,  at  least,  as  the  place 
where  La  Fayette  had  made  his  temporary  abode. 
The  earnestness  with  which  Cadwallader  pressed  this 
plan,  was  not  likely  to  meet  with  any  objections  from 
roe.  Tired  of  the  ship,  and  eager  to  place  my  foot 
on  the  soil  of  the  western  world,  the  proposal  was  no 
sooner  made  than  it  was  accepted.  The  boat  was 
instantly  engaged  for  our  exclusive  benefit,  and  the 
necessary  preparations  made  for  our  departure. 

And  now  a  little  incident  occurred,  which,  as  it 
manifests  a  marked  difference  in  the  manners,  and 
perhaps  in  the  characters  of  those  who  inhabit  this 
republic,  and  the  possessors  of  our  own  Europe,  I 
shall  take  the  liberty  to  introduce. 


YOUNG    AMERICAN    GIRL.  26 

I  have  already  mentioned  a  fair  creature  as  being 
among  our  passengers.  She  is  of  that  age  when,  in 
our  eyes,  the  sex  is  most  alluring,  because  we  know 
it  to  be  the  most  innocent.  I  do  not  think  her  years 
can  much  exceed  seventeen.  Happily,  your  Belgic 
temperament  is  too  mercurial  to  require  a  tincture  of 
romance  to  give  interest  to  a  simple  picture,  in  which 
delicacy,  feminine  beauty,  and  the  most  commendable 
ingenuousness,  were  admirably  mingled.  Neither  am 
I,  albeit,  past  the  time  of  day-dreams,  and  wakeful 
nights,  so  utterly  insensible  to  the  attractions  of  such 
a  being,  as  to  have  passed  three  weeks  in  her  society, 
without  experiencing  some  portion  of  that  manly  in 
terest  in  her  welfare,  which,  I  fear,  it  has  been  my 
evil  fortune  to  have  felt  for  too  many  of  the  syrens  in 
general,  to  permit  a  sufficient  concentration  of  the 
sentiment,  in  favour  of  any  one  in  particular.  I  had 
certainly  not  forgotten,  during  the  passage,  to  manifest 
a  proper  spirit  of  homage  to  the  loveliness  of  the  sex, 
in  the  person  of  this  young  American  ;  nor  do  I  think 
that  my  manner  failed  to  express  a  prudent  and  saving 
degree  of  the  admiration  that  was  excited  by  her 
gentle,  natural,  and  nymph-like  deportment,  no  less 
than  by  her  spirited  and  intelligent  discourse.  In 
short — but  you  were  not  born  in  Rotterdam,  nor 
reared  upon  the  Zuy  der  Zee,  to  need  a  madrigal  on 
such  a  topic.  The  whole  affair  passed  on  the  ocean, 
and,  as  a  nautical  man,  you  will  not  fail  to  compre 
hend  it.  Notwithstanding  I  had  made  every  effort  to 
appear,  what  you  know  I  really  am,  sufficiently  ami 
able,  during  the  voyage,  and,  notwithstanding  Cad- 
wallader  had  not  given  himself  any  particular  trouble 
on  the  subject  at  all,  it  was  not  to  be  denied  that 
there  was  a  marked  distinction  in  the  reception  of 
our  respective  civilities,  and  that  always  in  his  favour. 
I  confess  that,  for  a  long  time,  I  was  disposed  (in  the 
entire  absence  of  all  better  reasons)  to  ascribe  this 
preference  to  an  illiberal  national  prejudice.  Still,  it 

D 


26  SUSPICION. 

was  only  by  comparison  that  I  had  the  smallest  ra  - 
tional  grounds  of  complaint.  But  a  peculiarly  odious 
quality  attaches  itself  to  comparisons  of  this  nature. 
There  is  a  good  deal  of  the  Cassar  in  my  composition, 
as  respects  the  sex ;  unless  1  could  bt  first  with  the 
Houries,  I  believe  I  should  be  willing  to  abandon 
Paradise  itself,  in  order  to  seek  pre-eminence  in  some 
humbler  sphere.  I  fear  this  ambitious  temperament 
tes  been  our  bane,  and  has  condemned  us  to  the 
heartless  and  unsocial  life  we  lead  !  Our  fair  fellow 
passenger  was  under  the  care  of  an  aged  and  invalid 
grandfather,  who  had  been  passing  a  few  years  in 
Italy,  in  pursuit  of  health.  Now,  it  is  not  easy  to 
imagine  a  more  cuttingly  polite  communication,  than 
that  which  this  vigilant  old  guardian  permitted  be 
tween  me  and  his  youthful  charge.  If  I  approached, 
her  joyous,  natural,  and  enticing  (I  will  not,  because 
a  little  piqued,  deny  the  truth,  Baron,)  merriment 
was  instantly  changed  into  the  cold  and  regulated 
smiles  of  artificial  breeding.  Nature  seemed  banished 
at  my  footstep :  and  yet  it  was  the  artlessness  and 
irresistible  attractions  of  those  fascinations,  which  so 
peculiarly  denote  the  influence  of  the  mighty  dame, 
that  were  constantly  tempting  me  to  obtrude  my 
withering  presence  on  her  enjoyments.  With  Cad- 
wallader,  every  thing  was  reversed.  In  his  society, 
she  laughed  without  ceasing;  chatted,  disputed,  was 
natural  and  happy.  To  all  this  intercourse,  the  lynx- 
eyed  grandfather  paid  not  the  smallest  attention.  He 
merely  seemed  pleased  that  his  child  had  found  an 
agreeable,  and  an  instructive  companion ;  while,  on 
the  contrary,  there  existed  so  much  of  attractiveness 
in  our  respective  systems,  that  it  was  impossible  for 
me  to  approach  the  person  of  the  daughter,  without 
producing  a  corresponding  proximity  on  the  part  of 
the  parent. 

Something  nettled  by  a  circumstance  that,  to  one 
who  is  sensible  he  is  not  as  interesting  as  formerly, 


AMERICAN    CUSTOMS.  27 

really  began  to  grow  a  little  personal,  I  took  occasion 
to  joke  Cudwallader  on  his  superior  happiness,  and 
to  felicitate  myself  on  the  probability,  that  I  might 
yet  enjoy  the  honour  of  officiating,  in  my  character 
of  a  confirmed  celibite,  at  his  nuptials.  He  heard  me 
without  surprise,  and  answered  me  without  emotion. 
"  I  thought  the  circumstance  could  not  long  escape 
one  so  quick-sighted,"  he  said.  "  You  think  I  am 
better  received  than  yourself?  The  fact  is  indisput 
able  ;  and,  as  the  motive  exists  in  customs  that  dis 
tinguish  us,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  from  every 
other  people,  I  will  endeavour  to  account  for  it.  In 
no  other  country,  is  the  same  freedom  of  intercourse 
between  the  unmarried  of  the  two  sexes,  permitted, 
as  in  America.  In  no  other  Christian  country,  is  there 
more  restraint  imposed  on  the  communications  be 
tween  the  married :  in  this  particular,  we  reverse  the 
usages  of  all  other  civilized  nations.  The  why,  and 
the  wherefore,  shall  be  pointed  out  to  you,  in  proper 
time ;  but  the  present  case  requires  its  own  explana 
tion.  Surprising,  and  possibly  suspicious,  as  may 
seem  to  you  the  easy  intercourse  I  hold  with  my 
young  countrywoman,  there  is  nothing  in  it  beyond 
what  you  will  see  every  day  in  our  society.  The 
father  permits  it,  because  /  am  his  countryman,  and 
he  is  watchful  of  you,  because  you  are  not  I  Men  of 
my  time  of  life,  are  not  considered  particularly  dan 
gerous  to  the  affections  of  young  ladies  of  seventeen, 
for  unequal  matches  are  of  exceedingly  rare  occur 
rence  among  us.  And,  if  I  were  what  I  have  been," 
he  added,  smiling,  "  I  do  not  know  that  the  case 
would  be  materially  altered.  In  every  thing  but 
years,  the  grandfather  of  the  fair  Isabel,  knows  that 
I  am  the  equal  of  his  charge.  It  would  be  quite  in 
the  ordinary  course  of  things,  that  ^  marriage  should 
grow  out  of  this  communication.  Ninety-nine,  in  one 
hundred,  of  our  family  connexions,  are  formed  very 
much  in  this  manner.  Taste  and  inclination,  rather 


28  THE    LITTLE    ISABEL. 

guided,  than  controlled,  by  the  prudence  of  older 
heads,  form  most  of  our  matches ;  and  just  as  much 
freedom  as  comports  with  that  prudence,  and  a  vast 
deal  more  than  you  probably  deem  safe,  is  alkwed 
between  the  young  of  the  two  sexes.  We,  who 
ought  to,  and  who  do  know  best,  think  otherwise. 
Women  are,  literally,  our  better  halves.  Their  frailty 
is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  seductions  of  man.  In  a  com 
munity  like  ours,  where  almost  every  man  has  some 
healthful  and  absorbing  occupation,  there  is  neither 
leisure,  nor  inclination,  to  devote  much  time  to  un 
worthy  pursuits.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  vice  must 
be  familiar,  before  it  ceases  to  be  odious.  In  Europe, 
a  successful  intrigue  often  gives  eclat,  even  to  an 
otherwise  contemptible  individual ;  in  America,  he 
must  be  a  peculiarly  fortunate  man,  who  can  with 
stand  its  odium.  But  the  abuse  of  youth  and  inno 
cence  with  us,  is  comparatively  rare  indeed.  In 
consequence,  suspicion  slumbers  ;  voila  tout." 

"But  why  this  difference,  then,  between  you  and 
me  ?"  I  demanded.  "  Why  does  this  Cerberus  sleep 
only  while  you  are  nigh?  I  confess  I  looked  for 
higher  courtesy  in  a  man  who  has  travelled." 

"It  is  precisely  because  he  has  travelled,"  my 
friend  interrupted,  a  little  dryly.  "But  you  can  con 
sole  yourself  with  the  expectation,  that  those  of  his 
countrymen,  who  have  never  quitted  home,  will  be  less 
vigilant,  because  less  practised  in  foreign  manners." 

This  introduction  brings  me  to  my  incident.  It 
was  no  sooner  known  that  we  were  about  to  quit  the 
ship,  than  a  dozen  longing  faces  gathered  about  us. 
Our  example  was  followed  by  others,  and  one  or 
two  more  boats  from  the  land  were  engaged  to 
transport  the  passengers  into  the  bay,  in  order  tha 
they  might  witness  the  reception  of  La  Fayette.  I 
had  observed  a  cloud  of  disappointment  on  the  fair 
brow  of  the  little  Isabel,  from  the  moment  our  inten 
tions  were  known.  The  circumstance  was  mentioned 


GREAT    CONFIDENCE.  29 

to  Cadwallader,  who  was  not  slow  to  detect  its  rea 
son.  After  a  little  thought,  he  approached  the  grand 
father,  and  made  an  offer  of  as  many  seats,  in  our  own 
boat,  as  might  be  necessary  for  the  accommodation  of 
his  party.  It  seems  the  health  of  the  old  man  would 
not  permit  the  risk.  The  offer  was,  therefore,  politely 
declined.  The  cloud  thickened  on  the  brow  of  Isa 
bel  ;  but  it  vanished  entirely  when  her  aged  grand 
father  proposed  that  she  should  accompany  us,  at 
tended  by  a  maid,  and  under  the  especial  protection 
of  my  companion.  In  all  this  arrangement,  singular 
as  it  appeared  to  my  eastern  vision,  there  was  the 
utmost  simplicity  and  confidence.  It  was  evident,  by 
the  tremulous  and  hesitating  assent  of  the  young  lady, 
that  even  the  customs  of  the  country  were  slightly 
invaded ;  but,  then,  the  occasion  was  deemed  suffi 
ciently  extraordinary  to  justify  the  innovation.  "  So 
much  for  the  privileges  of  two  score  and  five,"  whis 
pered  Cadwallader,  after  he  had  handed  his  charge 
into  the  boat.  For  myself,  I  admit  I  rejoiced  in  an 
omen  that  was  so  flattering  to  those  personal  preten 
sions  which,  in  my  own  case,  are  getting  to  be  a  little 
weakened  by  time.  Before  closing  this  relation,  of 
what  I  consider  a  distinctive  custom,  it  is  proper 
to  add,  that  had  not  the  parties  been  of  the  very 
highest  class  of  society,  even  far  less  hesitation  would 
have  been  manifested ;  and  that  the  little  reluctance 
exhibited  by  Isabel,  was  rather  a  tribute  paid  to  that 
retiring  delicacy  which  is  thought  to  be  so  proper  to 
her  sex,  than  to  the  most  remote  suspicion  of  any 
positive  impropriety.  Had  she  been  a  young  married 
woman,  there  would,  probably,  have  been  the  same 
little  struggle  with  timidity,  and  the  same  triumph  of 
the  curiosity  of  the  sex.  But  the  interest  which  our 
fair  companion  took  in  the  approaching  ceremony, 
deserves  a  better  name.  It  was  plain,  by  her  sparkling 
eyes  and  flushed  features,  that  a  more  worthy  senti- 
D  2 


30  LEAVING    THE    SHIP. 

ment  was  at  the  bottom  of  her  impulses — it  was  af 
most  patriotism. 

Behold  us  then  in  the  boat ;  Cadwallader,  the  gen 
tle  Isabel,  and  our  three  attendants,  and  impelled  by 
the  vigorous  arms  of  four  lusty  watermen.  We  were 
still  upon  the  open  sea,  and  our  distance  from  the  city 
not  less  than  seven  leagues.  The  weather,  however, 
was  propitious,  and  our  little  bark,  no  less  than  its 
crew,  was  admirably  adapted  to  inspire  confidence. 
The  former  was  long  and  narrow,  but  buoyant,  and 
of  beautiful  construction,  being  both  light  and  strong. 
The  latter,  it  appears,  are  of  a  class  of  watermen,  that 
are  renowned  in  this  country,  under  the  name  of  White- 
hallers.  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  their  reputation 
is  fairly  earned;  for  they  urged  the  boat  onward  with 
great  speed,  and  with  the  most  extraordinary  ease  to 
themselves.  I  remarked,  that  their  stroke  was  rather 
short,  and  somewhat  quick,  and  that  it  was  made  en 
tirely  with  the  arm,  the  body  remaining  as  nearly  up 
right  as  possible  when  the  limbs  are  exerted.  At  first,  I 
thought  these  men  were  less  civil  than  comported  with 
their  condition.  They  touched  their  hats  to  us,  it  is  true, 
on  entering  the  boat,  but  it  was  rather  too  much  in  the 
manner  of  a  salutation  of  equality ;  at  least,  there  was 
no  very  visible  manifestation  of  a  sense  of  inferiority. 
Closer  observation,  however,  furnished  no  additional 
grounds  of  complaint.  Their  whole  deportment  was 
civil,  nor,  though  far  from  humble,  could  it  be  termed 
in  any  degree  obtrusive ;  still  it  was  not  precisely 
European.  There  seemed  no  sin  of  commission,  but 
something  of  omission,  that  was  offensive  to  the  es 
tablished  superiority  of  a  man  of  a  certain  number 
of  quarterings.  Perhaps  I  was  more  alive  to  this 
jealous  feeling,  from  knowing  that  I  was  in  a  repub 
lican  country,  and  from  the  fact,  that  I  Lad  so  recently 
quitted  one  where  the  lower  classes  bow  more,  and 
the  higher  less,  than  among  any  other  Christian  people, 


FORTIFICATIONS.  31 

The  strokesman  of  the  boat  took  some  interest  in 
seeing  us  all  properly  bestowed.  With  the  utmost 
coolness  he  appropriated  the  best  place  to  Isabel,  and 
then  with  the  same  sang  froid  intimated  that  her  at 
tendant  should  occupy  the  next.  Neither  was  he 
ignorant  that  the  object  of  his  care  was  a  domestic, 
for  he  called  her  "  the  young  woman,"  while  he  dis 
tinguished  her  mistress  as  "the  young  lady."  I  was 
a  little  surprised  to  see  that  Cadwallader  quietly  con 
ceded  the  place  to  this  Abigail ;  for,  during  the  pas 
sage,  the  distinctions  of  master  and  servant  always  had 
been  sufficiently  observed  between  all  our  passengers. 
I  even  ventured  to  speak  to  him  on  the  subject,  in 
German,  of  which  he  has  a  tolerable  knowledge. 
"Notwithstanding  all  that  the  old  world  has  said  of 
itself  on  this  subject,"  he  coolly  answered,  "you  are 
now  in  the  true  Paradise  of  women.  They  receive, 
perhaps,  less  idolatry,  but  more  manly  care  here,  than 
in  any  country  I  have  visited."  Truly,  Baron,  I  begin 
to  deem  the  omens  propitious  ! 

After  passing  at  a  short  distance  from  the  low  sandy 
point  already  named,  we  were  fairly  within  the  estu 
ary.  This  bay  is  of  considerable  extent,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  and  on  the  south  by  land  of 
some  elevation.  It  receives  a  river  or  two  from  the 
west,  and  is  partially  protected  from  the  ocean,  on 
the  east,  by  a  low  beach,  which  terminates  in  the 
point  named,  and  by  an  island  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  entrance.  The  mouth  is  a  few  miles  in  width, 
possessing  several  shallow  channels,  but  only  one  of  a 
depth  sufficient  to  admit  vessels  of  a  heavy  draught. 
The  latter  are  obliged  to  pass  within  musket-shot  of 
the  point,  Cape,  or  fiooA:,  as  it  is  here  called.  Thence 
to  the  city,  a  distance  of  some  six  leagues,  the  naviga 
tion  is  so  intricate  as  to  render  a  pilot  indispensable. 

The  ruins  of  an  imperfect  and  insignificant  military 
work  were  visible  on  the  cape ;  but  I  was  told  the 
government  is  seriously  occupied  in  erecting  more 


32  RARITAN  BAY 

formidable  fortifications,  some  of  which  were  shortly 
visible.  A  shoal  was  pointed  out,  on  which  it  is  con 
templated  to  construct  an  immense  castle,  at  a  vast 
expense,  and  which,  with  the  other  forts  built  and 
building,  will  make  the  place  impregnable  against  all 
marine  attacks.  I  have  been  thus  diffuse  in  my  de 
tails,  dear  Baron,  because  I  believe  every  traveller 
has  a  prescriptive  right  to  prove  that  he  enters  all 
strange  lands  with  his  eyes  open ;  and,  because  it  is 
quite  out  of  my  power  to  say  at  what  moment  your 
royal  master,  the  good  king  William,  may  see  fit  to 
send  you  at  the  head  of  a  fleet  to  regain  those  posses 
sions,  of  which  his  ancestors,  of  the  olden  time,  were 
ruthlessly  robbed  by  the  cupidity  of  the  piratical 
English ! 

I  presume,  that  renowned  navigator,  the  indefatiga 
ble  Hudson,  laboured  under  some  such  delusion  as 
myself,  when  his  adventurous  bark  first  steered  within 
the  capes  of  this  estuary.  My  eyes  were  constantly 
bent  towards  the  west,  in  expectation  of  seeing  the 
spires  of  a  town,  rearing  themselves  from  the  water 
which  still  bounded  the  view  in  that  direction.  The 
boat,  however,  held  its  course  towards  the  north, 
though  nothing  was  visible  there,  but  an  unbroken 
outline  of  undulating  hills.  It  seems  we  were  only 
in  an  outer  harbour,  on  a  magnificent  scale,  which 
takes  its  name  (Raritan  Bay)  from  that  of  the  princi 
pal  river  it  receives  from  the  west.  A  passage  through 
the  northern  range  of  hills,  became  visible  as  we  ap 
proached  them,  and  then  glimpses  of  the  cheerful 
and  smiling  scene  within  were  first  caught.  This 
passage,  though  near  a  mile  in  width,  is  a  strait,  com 
pared  with  the  bays  within  and  without,  and  it  is  not 
improperly  termed  "  the  Narrows."  Directly  in  the 
mouth  of  this  passage,  and  a  little  on  its  eastern  side, 
arises  a  large  massive  fortress,  in  stone,  washed  by  the 
water  on  all  its  sides,  and  mounting  some  sixty  or  sev 
enty  pieces  of  heavy  ordnance.  The  heights  on  the  ad- 


TRAIT  OF  CHARACTER.  33 

joining  shores,  are  also  crowned  with  works,  though 
of  a  less  imposing  aspect.  The  latter  are  the  remains 
of  the  temporary  defences  of  the  late  war,  while  the 
former  constitutes  part  of  the  great  plan  of  permanent 
defence.  Labourers  are,  however,  unceasingly  em 
ployed  on  the  new  forts. 

The  shores,  on  both  han-'ls,  were  now  dotted  with 
marine  villas  and  farm-houses,  and  the  view  was  alive 
with  all  the  pleasing  objects  of  civilized  life.  On  oui 
left,  a  little  distance  above  the  passage,  a  group  oi 
houses  came  into  view,  and  some  fifty  sail  were  seen 
anchored  in  the  offing.  "  That,  then,  is  New- York!" 
1  said,  with  a  feeling  a  little  allied  to  disappointment. 
My  companion  was  silent,  for  his  thoughts  kept  him 
dumb,  if  not  deaf.  "  Gentlemen  are  apt  to  think  they 
get  into  the  heart  of  America  at  the  first  step,"  very 
coolly  returned  our  strokesman  ;  "  we  are  eight  good 
miles  from  Whitehall  slip,  and  that  village  is  the 
quarantine  ground."  This  was  said  without  any  visi 
ble  disrespect,  but  with  an  air  of  self-possession  that 
proved  our  Whitehaller  thought  it  a  subject  on  which 
long  experience  had  given  him  a  perfect  right  to  be 
stow  an  opinion.  As  I  felt  in  no  haste  to  take  the 
second  step  into  a  country  where  the  first  had  proved 
so  unreasonably  long,  I  was  fain  to  await  the  develope- 
ment  of  things,  with  patience.  My  companions  did 
not  manifest  any  disposition  to  converse.  Even  the 
petite  Isabel,  though  her  strong  native  attachments 
had  been  sufficiently  apparent,  by  her  previous  dis 
course,  was  no  longer  heard.  Like  our  male  com 
panion,  a  sentiment  of  deep  interest  in  the  ensuing 
scene,  kept  her  silent.  At  length  the  exclamation  of 
"  there  they  come !"  burst  from  the  lips  of  Cadwalla- 
der ;  and  there  they  did  come,  of  a  certainty,  in  all 
the  majesty  of  a  fine  aquatic  procession,  and  that  too 
on  a  scale  of  magnificence  that  was  admirably  suited 
to  the  surrounding  waters,  and  as  an  American  would 
also  probably  say,  "  to  the  occasion."  In  order  thai 


34  NEW-YORK    HARBOUR. 

you  may  form  a  better  idea  of  the  particular  scene. 
it  is  necessary  that  I  should  attempt  a  description  of 
some  of  its  parts. 

The  harbour  of  New- York  is  formed  by  a  junction 
of  the  Hudson  with  an  arm  of  the  sea.  The  latter 
connects  the  waters  of  Raritan  Bay  with  those  of  a 
large  sound,  which  commences  a  few  leagues  further 
eastward,  and  which  separates,  for  more  than  a  hun 
dred  miles,  the  state  of  Connecticut  from  the  long 
narrow  island  of  Nassau.  The  Americans  call  this 
district  Long  Island,  in  common  parlance ;  but  I  love 
to  continue  those  names  which  perpetuate  the  recol 
lection  of  your  former  dominion.  Some  six  or  seven 
rivers  unite  here  to  pour  their  waters  into  a  vast  basin, 
of  perhaps  sixty  or  seventy  miles  in  circuit.  This 
basin  is  subdivided  into  two  unequal  parts  by  a  second 
island,  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  Staten,  another 
memento  of  your  ancient  power.  The  Narrows  is 
the  connecting  passage.  The  inner  bay  cannot  be 
less  than  twenty  miles  in  circumference.  It  contains 
three  or  four  small  islands,  and  possesses  water  enough 
for  all  the  purposes  of  navigation,  with  good  anchor 
age  in  almost  every  part.  The  land  around  it  is  low, 
with  the  exception  of  the  hills  near  its  entrance,  and 
certain  rocky  precipices  of  a  very  striking  elevation 
that  on  one  side  line  the  Hudson,  for  some  miles,  com 
mencing  a  short  distance  from  its  mouth. 

On  the  present  occasion  every  thing  combined  to 
lend  to  a  scenery,  that  is  sufficiently  pleasing  of  itself, 
its  best  and  fullest  effect.  The  heavens  were  without 
a  cloud ;  the  expanse  beneath,  supporting  such  an  arch 
as  would  do  no  discredit  to  the  climate  of  sunny  Italy 
herself.  The  bay  stretched  as  far  as  eye  could  reach, 
like  a  mirror,  unruffled  and  shining.  The  heat  was 
rather  genial  than  excessive,  and,  in  fine,  as  our  im 
aginative  young  companion  poetically  expressed  it, 
"  the  very  airs  were  loyal,  nor  had  the  climate  forgot" 
ten  to  be  true  to  the  feelings  of  the  hour !" 


THE  SUBDUED  MANNER  OF  THE  AMERICANS.    35 

It  is  necessary  to  have  seen  something  of  the  ordi 
narily  subdued  and  quiet  manner  of  these  people,  in 
order  to  enter  fully  into  a  just  appreciation  of  the 
common  feeling,  which  certainly  influenced  all  who 
were  with  me  in  the  boat.  You  probably  know  that 
we  in  Europe  are  apt  to  charge  the  Americans  with 
being  cold  of  temperament,  and  little  sensible  of  lively 
impressions  of  any  sort.  I  have  learnt  enough  t< 
know,  that  in  return,  they  charge  us,  in  gross,  with 
living  in  a  constant  state  of  exaggeration,  and  with 
affecting  sentiments  we  do  not  feel.  I  fear  the  truth 
will  be  found  as  much  with  them  as  against  them.  It 
is  always  hazardous  to  judge  of  the  heart  by  what  the 
mouth  utters :  nor  is  he  any  more  likely  to  arrive  at 
the  truth,  who  believes  that  every  time  an  European 
shows  his  teeth  in  a  smile,  he  will  do  you  no  harm, 
than  he  is  right  who  thinks  the  dog  that  growls  will 
as  infallibly  bite.  I  believe,  after  all,  it  must  be  con 
ceded,  that  sophistication  is  not  the  most  favourable 
science  possible  for  the  cultivation  of  the  passions. 
No  man  is,  in  common,  more  imperturbable  than  the 
American  savage ;  and  who  is  there  more  terrible  in 
his  anger,  or  more  firm  in  his  attachments  ?  Let  this 
be  as  it  may,  these  republicans  certainly  exhibit  their 
ordinary  emotions  in  no  very  dramatic  manner.  I  had 
never  before  seen  Cadwallader  so  much  excited,  and 
yet  his  countenance  manifested  thought,  rather  than 
joy.  Determined  to  probe  him  a  little  closer,  I  ven 
tured  to  inquire  into  the  nature  of  those  ties  which 
united  La  Fayette,  a  foreigner,  and  a  native  of  a  coun 
try  that  possesses  so  little  in  manners  and  opinions  in 
common  with  his  own,  to  a  people  so  very  differently 
constituted  from  those  among  whom  he  was  born  and 
educated. 

u  It  is  then  fortunate  for  mankind,"  returned  Cad 
wallader,  "that  there  exist,  in  nature,  principles  which 
can  remove  these  obstacles  of  our  own  creation. 
Though  habit  and  education  do  place  wide  and  fre- 


36  LA    FAYETTE. 

quently  lamentable  barriers  between  the  sympathies 
of  nations,  he  who  has  had  the  address  to  break 
through  them,  without  a  sacrifice  of  any  natural  duty, 
possesses  a  merit,  which,  as  it  places  him  above  the 
level  of  his  fellow-creatures,  should,  and  will  protect 
him  from  their  prejudices.  It  is  no  small  part  of  the 
glory  of  La  Fayette,  that  while  he  has  taken  such  a 
hold  of  our  affections  as  no  man  probably  ever  before 
possessed  in  those  of  a  foreign  nation,  he  has  never, 
for  an  instant,  forgotten  that  he  was  a  Frenchman. 
In  order,  however,  to  appreciate  the  strength  and  the 
reasons  of  this  attachment,  as  well  as  the  glory  it 
should  reflect  on  its  subject,  it  is  necessary  to  remem 
ber  the  causes  which  first  brought  our  present  guest 
among  us. 

"  If  any  man  may  claim  a  character  for  manful  and 
undeviating  adherence  to  what  he  has  deemed  the 
right,  under  circumstances  of  nearly  irresistible  tempt 
ation  to  go  wrong,  it  is  La  Fayette.  His  love  of  lib 
eral  principles  was  even  conceived  under  the  most 
unfavourable  circumstances.  The  blandishments  of 
a  sensual,  but  alluring  court,  the  prejudices  of  a  highly 
privileged  caste,  with  youth,  wealth,  and  constitution, 
were  not  auspicious  to  the  discovery  of  truth.  None 
but  a  man  who  was  impelled  by  high  and  generous 
intentions,  could  have  thrown  away  a  load  which 
weighs  so  many  gifted  minds  to  the  earth.  He  has 
the  high  merit  of  being  the  first  French  nobleman 
who  was  willing  to  devote  his  life  and  fortune  to  the 
benefit  of  the  inferior  classes.  Some  vapid  and  self- 
sufficient  commentators  have  chosen  to  term  this 
impulse  an  inordinate  and  vain  ambition.  If  their 
appellation  be  just,  it  has  been  an  ambition  which  has 
ever  proved  itself  singularly  regardful  of  others,  and 
as  singularly  regardless  of  self.  In  the  same  spirit  of 
detraction  have  these  declaimers  attempted  to  assail 
the  virtue  they  could  not  imitate,  and  to  depreciate 
services,  whose  very  object  their  contracted  minds 


AMERICA    AND    LA    FAYETTE.  37 

have  not  the  power  to  comprehend.  I  shall  not  speak 
of  events  connected  with  the  revolution  in  his  own 
country,  for  they  form  no  other  part  of  our  admiration 
of  La  Fayette,  than  as  they  serve  to  show  us  how 
true  and  how  fearless  he  has  ever  been  in  adhering 
to  what  we,  in  common,  believe  to  be  the  right.  Had 
he  been  fitted  to  control  that  revolution,  as  it  existed 
in  its  worst  and  most  revolting  aspects,  he  would  hav 
failed  in  some  of  those  qualities  which  are  necessary 
to  our  esteem. 

"  In  the  remembrance  of  the  connexion  between 
La  Fayette  and  his  own  country,  the  American  finds 
the  purest  gratification.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that 
other  men  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  cause  of 
human  nature,  since  we  seek,  in  vain,  for  one  who 
has  done  it  with  so  little  prospect  of  future  gain,  or 
at  so  great  hazard  of  present  loss.  His  detracters 
pretend  that  he  was  led  into  our  quarrel  by  that  long 
ing  for  notoriety,  which  is  so  common  to  youth.  It  is 
worthy  .of  remark,  that  this  longing  should  have  been 
as  peculiarly  his  own  by  its  commencement  as  by  its 
duration.  It  is  exhibited  in  the  man  of  seventy,  under 
precisely  the  same  forms  that  it  was  first  seen  in  the 
youth  of  nineteen.  In  this  particular,  at  least,  it  par 
takes  of  the  immutable  quality  of  truth. 

"  Separate  from  all  those  common  principles,  which, 
in  themselves,  would  unite  us  to  any  man,  there  are 
ties  of  a  peculiarly  endearing  nature  between  us  and 
La  Fayette.  His  devotion  to  our  cause  was  not  only 
first  in  point  of  time,  but  it  has  ever  been  first  in  all 
its  moral  features.  He  came  to  bestow,  and  not  to 
receive.  While  others,  who  brought  little  beside 
their  names,  were  seeking  rank  and  emoluments,  he 
sought  the  field  of  battle.  His  first  commission  had 
scarcely  received  the  stamp  of  official  forms,  before 
it  had  received  the  still  more  honourable  seal  of  his 
own  blood.  A  boy  in  years,  a  native  of  a  country 
towards  which  we  had  a  hereditary  dislike,  he  caused 
E 


38  INTEREST    IN    LA  FAYETTE 

his  prudence  to  be  respected  among  the  most  prudent 
and  wary  people  of  the  earth.  He  taught  us  to  for 
get  our  prejudices :  we  not  only  loved  him,  but  we 
began  to  love  his  nation  for  his  sake.  Throughout 
the  half  century  of  our  intercourse,  a  period  more 
fraught  with  eventful  changes  than  any  that  has  pre 
ceded  it,  nothing  has  occurred  to  diminish,  or  to  dis 
turb,  this  affection.  As  his  devotion  to  our  cause 
never  wavered,  not  even  in  the  darkest  days  of  our 
adversity,  so  has  our  attachment  continued  steady  to 
the  everlasting  obligations  of  gratitude.  Whatever 
occurred  in  the  revolutions  of  the  old  world,  the  eye 
of  America  was  turned  on  La  Fayette.  She  watched 
his  movements  with  all  the  solicitude  of  a  tender  pa 
rent  ;  triumphed  in  his  successes ;  sympathized  in  his 
reverses ;  mourned  in  his  sufferings,  but  always  exulted 
in  his  constancy.  The  knowledge  of  passing  events 
is  extended,  in  our  country,  to  a  degree  that  is  else 
where  unknown.  We  heard  of  the  downfall  of  thrones ; 
of  changes  in  dynasties ;  of  victories,  defeats,  rapine, 
and  war,  until  curiosity  itself  was  sated  with  repeti 
tions  of  the  same  ruthless  events.  Secure  in  our 
position,  and  firm  in  our  principles,  the  political  tor 
nadoes,  that  overturned  the  most  ancient  establish 
ments  of  the  old  world,  sounded  in  our  ears,  with  no 
greater  effect  than  the  sighings  of  our  own  autumnal 
gales.  But  no  event,  coupled  with  the  interests  of 
our  friend,  was  suffered  to  escape  our  notice.  The 
statesman,  the  yeoman,  or  the  school-boy ;  the  matron 
among  her  offspring ;  the  housewife  amid  her  avoca 
tions  ;  and  the  beauty  in  the  blaze  of  her  triumph, 
forgot  alike  the  passions  or  interests  of  the  moment, 
forgot  their  apathy  in  the  distresses  of  a  portion  of  the 
world  that  they  believed  was  wanting  in  some  of  its 
duty  to  itself,  to  suffer  at  all,  and  drew  near  to  listen 
at  the  name  of  La  Fayette.  I  remember  the  deep, 
reverential,  I  might  almost  say  awful,  attention,  with 
which  a  school  of  some  sixty  children,  on  a  remote 


INTEREST  IN  LA  FAYETTE.  39 

frontier,  listened  to  the  tale  of  his  sufferings  in  the 
castle  of  Olmutz,  as  it  was  recounted  to  us  by  the 
instructor,  who  had  been  a  soldier  in  his  youth,  and 
fought  the  battles  of  his  country,  under  the  orders  of 
the  'young  and  gallant  Frenchman.''  We  plotted 
among  ourselves,  the  means  of  his  deliverance  ;  won 
dered  that  the  nation  was  not  in  arms  to  redress  his 
wrongs,  and  were  animated  by  a  sort  of  reflection  of 
his  own  youthful  and  generous  chivalry.  Washington 
was  then  with  us,  and,  as  he  was  said  to  be  exerting 
the  influence  of  his  powerful  name,  which,  even  at 
that  early  day,  was  beginning  to  obtain  the  high  as 
cendancy  of  acknowledged  virtue,  we  consoled  our 
selves  with  the  reflection,  that  he,  at  least,  could  never 
fail.  Few  Americans,  at  this  hour,  enjoy  a  happier 
celebrity  than  Huger,  who,  in  conjunction  with  a 
brave  German,  risked  life  and  liberty  to  effect  the 
release  of  our  benefactor. 

"Though  subsequent  events  have  tranquillized  this 
interest  in  the  fortunes  of  La  Fayette,  we  must  become 
recreant  to  our  principles,  before  it  can  become  ex 
tinct.  It  is  now  forty  years  since  he  was  last  among 
us  ;  but  scarcely  an  American  can  enter  France  with 
out  paying  the  homage  of  a  visit  to  La  Grange.  Our 
admiration  of  his  disinterestedness,  of  his  sacrifices, 
and  of  his  consistency,  is  just  as  strong  as  ever ;  and, 
I  confess,  I  anticipate  that  the  country  will  receive 
him  in  such  a  manner  as  shall  prove  this  attachment 
to  the  world.  But,  you  are  not  to  expect,  in  our 
people,  manifestations  of  joy  similar  to  those  you  have 
witnessed  in  Europe.  We  are  neither  clamorous  noi 
exaggerated,  in  the  exhibitions  of  our  feelings.  The 
prevailing  character  of  the  nation  is  that  of  modera 
tion.  Still  am  I  persuaded  that,  in  the  case  of  La 
Fayette,  some  of  our  self-restraint  will  give  way  be 
fore  the  force  of  affection.  We  consider  ourselves  as 
the  guardians  of  his  fame.  They  who  live  a  century 
hence,  may  live  to  know  how  high  a  superstructure 


40  PREJUDICES  AGAINST  HIM  IN  EUROPE. 

of  renown  can  be  reared,  when  it  is  based  on  tin 
broad  foundations  of  the  gratitude  of  a  people  like  oui 
own.  The  decision  of  common  sense  to-day,  will 
become  the  decision  of  posterity." 

Cadwallader  spoke  with  an  earnestness  that,  at 
least,  attested  the  sincerity  of  his  own  feelings.  I  may 
have  given  to  his  language  the  stiffness  of  a  written 
essay,  but  I  am  certain  of  having  preserved  all  the 
ideas,  and  even  most  of  the  words.  The  humid  eyes 
of  the  fair  Isabel  responded  to  all  he  uttered,  and 
even  our  Whitehallers  bent  to  their  oars,  and  listened 
with  charmed  ears. — Adieu. 


TO  THE  BARON  VON  KEMPERFELT, 
&c.  Sec. 


New-York, 


1  CLOSED  my  last  with  the  sentiments  of  my  Ameri 
can  friend,  on  the  subject  of  La  Fayette.  I  confess 
that  the  time  was,  when  my  feelings  had  not  entirely 
escaped  the  prejudice  which  is  so  common  among 
certain  people  in  Europe,  on  the  subject  of  the  cha 
racter  of  this  distinguished  individual.  The  French 
Revolution  led  to  so  many  excesses,  that,  under  a 
disgust  of  its  abuses,  the  world  has  been  a  little  too 
apt  to  confound  persons,  in  judging  of  its  characters 
and  events.  It  is  now  time,  however,  to  begin  to 
consider,  whether  its  sacrifices  have  been  made 
without  a  sufficient  object.  If  the  consciousness  of 
civil  rights,  and  the  general  intelligence  which  are 
beginning  to  diffuse  themselves  throughout  Christen 
dom,  are  remembered,  it  will  be  generally  admitted, 
I  believe,  that  France  has  not  suffered  in  vain.  It 


A  BETTER  FEELING  GAINING  GROUND.  41 

any  man  can  be  said  to  have  foreseen,  and  to  have 
hoped  for  these  very  results,  on  which  the  kingdom, 
no  less  than  the  enlightened  of  all  Europe,  is  begin 
ning  to  felicitate  itself,  it  really  seems  to  me,  it  must 
be  La  Fayette.  That  he  failed  to  stem  the  torrent 
of  disorder,  was  the  fault  of  the  times,  or,  perhaps, 
the  fault  of  those  whose  previous  abuses  had  produced 
so  terrible  a  re-action.  It  was  fortunate  for  Napoleon 
himself,  that  his  destinies  did  not  call  him  into  the 
arena  an  hour  sooner  than  they  did.  His  life,  or  his 
proscription,  would,  otherwise,  have  probably  been 
the  consequence.  The  man  who  was  so  easily  spoiled 
by  prosperity,  might  readily  have  sunk  under  the  ex 
traordinary  pressure  of  the  first  days  of  the  Revolu 
tion.  But,  as  it  is  my  present  object  to  write  of  Ame 
rica,  we  will  waive  all  other  matter. 

Had  any  of  those  ancient  prejudices  still  existed,  1 
should  have  been  churlish,  indeed,  not  to  have  partici 
pated,  in  some  degree,  in  the  generous  feelings  of  my 
companions.  There  was  so  much  genuine,  undis 
guised,  and  disinterested  gratification  expressed  in  the 
manners  of  them  all,  that  it  was  impossible  to  distrust 
its  sincerity.  The  welcome  of  every  eye  was  more 
like  the  look  with  which  friend  meets  friend,  than  the 
ordinary  conventional  and  artificial  greetings  of  com 
munities.  Not  a  soul  of  them  all,  with  the  exception 
of  Cadwallader,  had  ever  seen  their  visiter,  and  yet 
the  meanest  individual  of  the  party  took  a  manifest 
pleasure  in  his  visit.  But  it  is  time  that  I  should  show 
you  that  this  feeling  was  not  confined  to  the  half- 
dozen  who  were  in  my  own  boat, 

At  the  exclamation  of  "there  they  come,"  from 
Cadwallader,  my  look  had  been  directed  to  the  inner 
bay,  and  in  the  direction  of  the  still  distant  city.  The 
aquatic  procession  I  saw,  was  composed  principally 
of  steam-boats.  They  were  steering  towards  the  vil 
lage  of  the  Lazaretto,  and  their  decks  exhibited  solid 
masses  of  human  heads.  In  order  to  conceive  the 
E  2 


42  PROCESSION  OF  THE  STEAM-BOATS. 

beauty  of  the  sight,  you  are  to  recall  the  accessories 
described  in  my  last  letter,  the  loveliness  of  the  day, 
and  it  is  also  necessary  to  understand  something  of 
the  magnitude,  appearance,  and  beauty  of  an  Ameri 
can  steam-boat.  The  latter  are  often  nearly  as  large 
as  frigates,  are  not  painted,  as  commonly  in  Europe, 
a  gloomy  black,  but  are  of  lively  and  pleasing  colours, 
without  being  gaudy,  and  have  frequently  species  of 
wooden  canopies,  that  serve  as  additional  decks,  on 
which  their  passengers  may  walk.  The  largest  of 
these  boats,  when  crowded,  will  contain  a  thousand 
people.  There  was  one,  among  the  present  collection, 
of  great  size,  that  had  been  constructed  to  navigate 
the  ocean,  and  which  was  provided  with  the  usual 
masts  and  rigging  of  a  ship.  This  vessel  was  manned 
by  seamen  of  the  public  service,  and  was  gaily  deco 
rated  with  a  profusion  of  flags.  Our  boat  reached  the 
wharf  of  the  Lazaretto,  a  few  minutes  after  the  pro 
cession.  One  of  the  largest  of  the  vessels  had  stopped 
at  this  place,  lying  with  her  side  to  the  shore,  while 
the  others  were  whirling  and  sailing  around  the  spot, 
giving  an  air  of  peculiar  life  and  animation  to  the 
scene.  Here  I  found  myself,  as  it  were  by  a  coup  de 
main,  transferred  at  once  from  the  monotony  of  a 
passage  ship,  into  the  bustle  and  activity  of  the  Ame 
rican  world.  Probably  not  less  than  five  thousand 
people  were  collected  at  this  one  spot,  including  all 
ages  and  every  condition  known  to  the  society  of  the 
country.  Though  the  whole  seemed  animated  by  a 
common  sentiment  of  pleasure,  I  did  not  fail  to  ob 
serve  an  air  of  great  and  subdued  sobriety  in  the 
countenances  of  almost  all  around  me.  As  Cadwal- 
lader  had  the  address  to  obtain  our  admission  into  the 
steam-boat  that  had  come  to  land,  and  which  was  in 
tended  to  receive  La  Fayette  in  person,  I  was  brought 
into  immediate  contact  with  its  occupants.  Closer 
observation  confirmed  my  more  distant  impressions. 
I  found  myself  in  the  midst  of  an  orderly,  grave,  well 


EXULTATION  OF   THE   FRENCH.  43 

dressed,  but  certainly  exulting  crowd.  It  was  plain  to 
gee  that  all  orders  of  men  (with  a  few  females)  were 
here  assembled,  unless  I  might  except  that  very  infe 
rior  class  which  I  already  begin  to  think  is  not  as 
usual  to  be  found  in  this  country  as  in  most  others.  I 
heard  French  spoken,  and  by  the  quick,  restless  eyes, 
and  elevated  heads,  of  some  half-dozen,  I  could  see 
that  France  had  her  representatives  in  the  throng 
and  that  they  deemed  the  occasion  one  in  which  they 
had  no  reason  to  blush  for  their  country.  Indeed  1 
can  scarcely  imagine  a  spectacle  more  gratifying  to  a 
Frenchman,  than  the  sight  that  was  here  exhibited. 
The  multitude  was  assembled  to  do  honour  to  an  in 
dividual  of  their  own  country,  for  services  that  he  had 
rendered  to  a  whole  people.  The  homage  he  received 
was  not  of  a  nature  to  be  distrusted.  It  was  as  spon 
taneous  as  had  been  the  benefits  it  was  intended  in 
some  manner  to  requite ;  it  was  of  a  nature,  Voth  in 
its  cause  and  its  effects,  to  do  credit  to  the  best 
feelings  of  man ;  but  it  was  also  of  a  nature  to  con 
tribute  to  the  just  and  personal  pride  of  the  country 
men  of  him  who  was  its  object. 

We  had  no  sooner  secured  a  proper  situation  for 
the  little  Isabel,  than  I  disposed  myself  to  make  re 
marks  still  more  minute  on  the  assemblage.  Cadwal- 
lader  kept  near  me,  and,  though  big  with  the  feelings 
of  home  and  country,  his  ear  was  not  deaf  to  my  in 
quiries  and  demands  for  explanation.  The  first  ques 
tion  was  to  ascertain  the  present  residence  of  the 
"  General,"  as  I  found  he  was  universally  called,  as 
it  were  par  excellence.  They  pointed  out  a  modest 
dwelling,  embowered  in  trees,  which  might  claim  to 
be  something  between  an  unpretending  villa  and  a 
large  farm-house.  It  was  the  residence  of  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  This  individual  was 
born  in  a  condition  of  mediocrity, — had  received  the 
ordinary,  imperfect,  classical  education  of  the  coun 
try,  and  had  risen,  by  popular  favour,  to  the  station 


44  VICE-PRESIDENT. 

of  Governor  of  this,  his  native,  state.  Quite  as  much 
by  the  importance  of  that  state,  as  by  the  weight  of 
his  own  character,  (which  is  very  differently  estimat 
ed  by  different  people,)  he  has  been  chosen  to  fill  his 
present  situation ;  an  office  which,  while  it  certain!)- 
makes  him  the  legal  successor  of  the  President,  in 
case  of  death,  resignation,  or  disability,  is  net  con 
sidered,  in  itself,  one  of  very  high  importance,  since  ite 
sole  duties  are  limited  to  the  chair  of  the  Senate, 
without  a  seat  in  the  cabinet.  There  has  been  no 
recent  instance  of  a  Vice-President  succeeding  to  the 
Presidency  ;  and  T  can  easily  see,  the  office  is  deemed, 
among  politicians,  what  the  English  seamen  call  a 
"  yellow  flag."  The  present  incumbent  is  said  to  be 
reduced  in  his  private  resources,  (the  fate  of  most 
public  men,  here  as  elsewhere,  where  corruption  is 
not  exceedingly  barefaced,)  and  is  compelled  to  make 
the  dwelling  named  his  principal,  if  not  his  only,  resi 
dence.  Here  La  Fayette  had  passed  the  day  after 
his  arrival,  the  sabbath,  which  it  would  seem  is  never 
devoted  by  the  Americans  to  any  public  ceremonies 
except  those  of  religion. 

Cadwallader  pointed  out  to  me,  among  the  crowd, 
several  individuals  who  had  filled  respectable  military 
rank  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.     Three  or  four 
of  them  were   men   of  fine  presence,  and  of  great 
gravity  and  dignity  of  mien :  others  had  less  preten 
sion ;  but  all  appeared  to  possess,  at  that  moment,  a 
common  feeling.     There  was  one  in  particular,  whc 
appeared  an  object  of  so  much  attention  and  respect, 
that  I  was  induced  to  inquire  his  history.     He  had 
been  an  officer  of  a  rank  no  higher  than  colonel — 
(few  of  the  generals  of  that  period  are  now  living  ;)— 
but  it  seems  he  had  obtained  a  name  among  his  coun 
trymen  for  political  firmness  and  great  personal  dar 
mg.     He,  however,  appeared  a  good  deal  indebted 
for  his  present  distinction  to  his  great  age,  which 
could  not  be  much  less  than  ninety.     Cadwallader 


APPROACH  OF  LA  FAYETTE.  46 

then  pointed  to  a  still  firm,  upright  veteran  of  near 
eighty,  who  had  left  the  army  of  the  Revolution  a 
general,  and  who  had  already  travelled  forty  miles 
that  morning  to  welcome  La  Fayette.  Others  in  the 
crowd  were  more  or  less  worthy  of  attention  ;  but  the 
principal  object  of  interest  soon  made  his  appearance, 
and  drew  all  eyes  to  himself. 

The  General  approached  the  boat  escorted  by  a 
committee  of  the  city  authorities,  and  attended  by  the 
Vice-President.  The  latter,  a  man  of  rather  pleasing 
exterior,  took  leave  of  him  on  the  wharf.  La  Fayette 
entered  the  vessel  amid  a  deep  and  respectful  silence. 
A  similar  reception  of  a  public  man,  in  Europe,  would 
have  been  ominous  of  a  waning  popularity.  Not  an 
exclamation,  not  even  a  greeting  of  any  sort,  was 
*rtidible.  A  lane  wras  opened  through  a  mass  of  bodies 
that  was  nearly  solid,  and  the  visiter  advanced  slowly 
along  the  deck  towards  the  stern.  The  expression 
of  his  countenance,  though  gratified  and  affectionate, 
seemed  bewildered.  His  eye,  remarkable  for  its  lire, 
even  in  the  decline  of  life,  appeared  to  seek  in  vain 
the  features  of  his  ancient  friends.  To  most  of  those 
whom  he  passed,  his  form  must  have  worn  the  air  of 
some  image  drawn  from  the  pages  of  history.  Half  a 
century  had  carried  nearly  all  of  his  contemporary 
actors  of  the  Revolution  into  the  great  abyss  of  time, 
and  he  now  stood  like  an  imposing  column  that  had 
been  reared  to  commemorate  deeds  and  principles 
that  a  whole  people  had  been  taught  to  reverence. 

La  Fayette  moved  slowly  through  the  multitude, 
walking  with  a  little  difficulty  from  a  personal  infirm 
ity.  On  every  side  of  him  his  anxious  gaze  still  sought 
some  remembered  face ;  but,  though  all  bowed,  and, 
with  a  deep  sentiment  of  respect  and  affection,  each 
seemed  to  watch  his  laboured  footstep,  no  one  ad 
vanced  to  greet  him.  The  crowd  opened  in  his  front 
by  a  soit  of  secret  impulse,  until  he  had  gained  the 
extremity  of  the  boat,  where,  last  in  the  throng,  stood 


46  HIS     RECEPTION. 

the  greyheaded  and  tottering  veteran  I  have  men 
tioned.  By  common  consent  his  countrymen  had  paid 
this  tribute  to  his  services  and  his  age.  The  honour 
of  receiving  the  first  embrace  was  his.  I  should  fail 
in  power  were  I  to  attempt  a  description  equal  to  the 
effect  produced  by  this  scene.  The  old  man  extended 
his  arms,  and,  as  La  Fayette  heard  his  name,  he  flew 
into  them  like  one  who  was  glad  to  seek  any  relief 
from  the  feelings  by  which  he  was  oppressed.  They 
were  long  silently  folded  in  each  other's  arms.  I 
know  not,  nor  do  I  care,  whether  there  were  any 
present  more  stoical  than  myself:  to  me,  this  sight, 
simple  and  devoid  of  pageantry,  was  touching  and 
grand.  Its  very  nakedness  heightened  the  effect. 
There  was  no  laboured  address,  no  ready  answer, 
no  drilling  of  the  feelings  in  looks  or  speeches,  nor 
any  mercenary  cries  to  drown  the  senses  in  noise. 
Nature  was  trusted  to,  and  well  did  she  perform  her 
part.  I  saw  all  around  me  paying  a  silent  tribute  to 
her  power.  I  do  not  envy  the  man  who  could  have- 
witnessed  such  a  scene  unmoved. 

Greetings  now  succeeded  greetings,  until  not  only 
all  the  aged  warriors,  but  most  of  the  individuals  in 
the  boat,  had  been  permitted  to  welcome  their  guest. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  vessel  had  left  the  land,  un 
heeded,  and,  by  the  time  recollection  had  returned,  I 
found  myself  in  an  entirely  new  situation.  The  whole 
of  the  aquatic  procession  was  in  motion  towards  the 
town,  and  a  gayer  or  a  more  animated  cortege  can 
scarcely  be  imagined.  The  deep,  quiet  sentiment 
which  attended  the  first  reception,  had  found  relief, 
and  joy  was  exhibiting  itself  under  some  of  its  more 
ordinary  aspects.  The  Castle  of  La  Fayette  (for  so 
is  the  fortress  in  the  midst  of  the  water  called)  was 
sending  the  thunder  of  its  heavy  artillery  in  our  wake; 
while  several  light  vessels  of  war  (the  steam-ship  in 
cluded)  were  answering  it  in  feeble,  but  not  less  hearty, 
echoes.  The  yards  of  the  latter  were  strung  with 


MANNER    OF     APPROACH.  47 

seamen,  and  occasionally  she  swept  grandly  along  oil! 
side,  rending  the  air  with  the  welcome  peculiar  to 
your  element.  There  was  literally  a  maze  of  steam 
boats.  Our  own,  as  containing  the  object  of  the  com 
mon  interest,  was  permitted  to  keep  steadily  on  her 
way,  quickening  or  relaxing  her  speed,  to  accommo 
date  her  motion  to  that  of  those  in  company,  but 
scarce  a  minute  passed  that  some  one  of  this  brilliant 
cortege  was  not  sweeping  along  one  or  the  other  of 
our  sides,  bearing  a  living  burthen,  which,  as  it  was 
animated  by  one  spirit,  seemed  to  possess  but  one  eye, 
and  one  subject  to  gaze  at.  It  was  some  little  time 
before  I  could  sufficiently  extricate  my  thoughts  from 
the  pleasing  confusion  of  such  a  spectacle,  to  examine 
the  appearance  of  the  bay,  and  of  the  town,  which 
soon  became  distinctly  visible.  Though  the  distance 
exceeded  two  leagues,  our  passage  seemingly  occu 
pied  but  a  very  few  minutes.  Before  us  the  boats 
began  to  thicken  on  the  water,  though  the  calmness 
of  the  day,  and  the  speed  with  which  we  moved, 
probably  prevented  our  being  followed  by  an  immense 
train  of  lighter  craft.  Two  of  the  steam-vessels,  how 
ever,  had  taken  the  Cadmus  in  tow,  and  were  bearing 
her  in  triumph  towards  the  city.  I  had  almost  for 
gotten  to  say,  that  in  passing  this  ship,  which  had 
been  anchored  off  the  Lazaretto,  the  son  and  secre 
tary  of  La  Fayette  joined  us,  and  received  the  sort 
of  reception  you  can  readily  imagine.  We  then  passed 
a  few  fortified  islands,  which  spoke  to  us  in  their  ar 
tillery,  and  soon  found  ourselves  within  musket-shot 
of  the  town. 

At  the  confluence  of  the  Hudson  (which  is  here  a 
mile  in  width)  and  the  arm  of  the  sea  already  men 
tioned,  the  city  is  narrowed  nearly  to  a  point.  The 
natural  formation  of  the  land,  however,  has  been 
changed  to  a  fine  sweep,  which  is  walled  against  the 
breaches  of  the  water,  while  trees  have  been  planted, 
and  walks  have  been  laid  out,  on  the  open  space 


48  CASTLE    GARDEN BATTERY. 

which  lies  between  the  houses  and  the  bay.  This 
promenade  was  once  occupied  by  the  principal  forti 
fication  of  the  colonial  town,  from  which  circumstance 
it  has  obtained  the  name  of  the  "  Battery."  On  a  small, 
artificial  island,  at  the  more  immediate  junction  of  the 
two  tides,  stands  a  large  circular  work,  of  one  tier  of 
guns,  which  was  once  known  as  "  Castle  Clinton."  I 
has  been  abandoned,  however,  as  a  military  post»and 
having  become  the  property  of  the  city,  it  is  now  oc 
cupied  as  a  place  of  refreshment  and  amusement  for 
the  inhabitants,  under  the  mongrel  appellation  of  "Cas 
tle  Garden."  There  is  no  garden,  unless  the  area  of 
the  work  can  be  called  one ;  but  it  seems  that  as  the 
city  abounds  with  small  public  gardens,  which  are 
appropriated  to  the  same  uses  as  this  rejected  castle, 
it  has  been  thought  proper,  in  this  instance,  to  supply 
the  space  which  is  elsewhere  found  so  agreeable,  by 
•a  name  at  least.  This  place  had  been  chosen  for  the 
spot  at  which  La  Fayette  was  to  land.  The  ramparts 
of  the  castle,  which  have  been  altered  to  a  noble  bel- 
videre,  a  terrace  at  the  base  of  the  work,  and  the 
whole  of  the  fine  sweep  of  the  battery,  a  distance  of 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  were  teeming  with 
human  countenances.  A  long  glittering  line  of  the 
military  was  visible  in  the  midst  of  the  multitude,  and 
every  thing  denoted  an  intention  to  give  the  visiter  a 
noble  welcome.  The  reception  I  had  already  wit 
nessed  was  evidently  only  a  prelude  to  a  still  more 
imposing  spectacle ;  the  whole  population  of  the  place 
having  poured  out  to  this  spot,  and  standing  in  readi 
ness  to  greet  their  guest.  To  my  eye,  there  seemed, 
at  least,  a  hundred  thousand  souls.  Our  approach  to 
the  shore  was  now  positively  impeded  by  the  boats, 
and  La  Fayette  left  us  in  a  barge,  which  was  sent  to 
receive  him  from  the  land.  What  passed  about  his 
person,  in  the  following  scene,  I  am  unable  to  say ; 
but  I  saw  the  rocking  of  the  multitude  as  he  moved 
among  them,  and  heard  the  shouts  which,  from  time 


THE    LITTLE    ISABEL.  49 

to  time,  escaped  a  people  whose  manners  are  habitu 
ally  so  self-restrained.  It  was  easy  to  note  his  move 
ments  in  the  distance,  for,  wherever  he  appeared, 
thither  the  tide  of  human  beings  set ;  but  oppressed 
with  the  novelty  of  my  situation,  and  anxious  to  lib 
erate  my  thoughts  from  the  whirl  of  so  constant  an 
excitement,  I  was  glad  to  hear  Cadwallader  propose 
our  seeking  a  hotel.  We  left  the  little  Isabel  at  the 
door  of  her  father;  and  after  being  present  at  a  meet 
ing  between  a  nation  and  its  guest,  I  had  the  pleasure 
to  see  the  fair  girl  throw  herself,  weeping,  but  happy, 
into  the  arms  of  those  who  formed  her  domestic  world. 
Still,  ingenuous  and  affectionate  as  this  young  creature 
is,  she  scarcely  appeared  to  think  of  home,  until  her 
foot  was  on  the  threshold  of  her  father's  house.  Then, 
indeed,  La  Fayette  was  for  a  time  forgotten,  and  na 
ture  was  awakened  in  all  its  best  and  sweetest  sym 
pathies.  Our  peculiar  propensities,  my  worthy  Baron, 
may  have  left  us  with  lighter  loads  to  journey  through 
the  vale  of  life ;  but  I  hope  it  is  no  treason  to  the 
principles  of  the  club,  sometimes  to  entertain  a  mod 
erate  degree  of  doubt  on  the  score  of  their  wisdom. 

Our  lodgings  are  at  a  house  that  is  called  the 
City  Hotel.  It  is  a  tavern  on  a  grand  scale,  possess 
ing  the  double  character  of  an  European  and  an 
American  house.  We  have  taken  up  our  abode  in 
the  former  side,  the  latter,  in  the  true  meaning  of  the 
word,  being  a  little  too  gregarious,  for  the  humour 
of  even  my  companion.  In  order  that  you  may 
understand  this  distinction,  it  is  necessary  that  I 
should  explain.  I  shall  do  it  on  the  authority  of 
Cadwallader. 

Most  of  the  travelling  in  America  is  done  either  in 
steam-boats,  which  abound,  or  in  the  public  coaches. 
This  custom  has  induced  the  habit  of  living  in  com 
mon,  which  prevails,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  from 
one  extremity  of  the  Republic,  or,  as  it  is  called  here, 
"  the  Union,"  to  the  other.  Those,  however,  who 

F 


60  THE    CITY    HOTEL. 

choose  to  live  separately,  can  do  so,  by  incurring  a 
small  additional  charge.  In  this  house,  the  number 
of  inmates  must,  at  this  moment,  greatly  exceed  a 
hundred.  By  far  the  greater  part  occupy  nothing 
more  than  bed-rooms,  assembling  at  stated  hours  at  a 
table  cT  hote  for  their  meals,  of  which  there  are  four 
in  the  day.  In  some  few  instances  more  than  one 
bed  is  in  a  room,  but  it  is  not  the  usual  arrangement 
of  the  house ;  the  whole  of  which  I  have  visited, 
from  its  garrets  to  its  kitchens.  I  find  the  building 
extensive  ;  quite  equal  to  a  first-rate  European  hotel 
in  size,  excelling  the  latter  in  some  conveniences,  and 
inferior  to  it  in  others.  It  is  clean  from  top  to  bottom  ; 
carpeted  in  almost  every  room  ;  a  custom  the  Amer 
icans  have  borrowed  from  the  English,  and  which,  in 
this  latitude,  in  the  month  of  August,  might  be  changed 
for  something  more  comfortable.  Our  own  accom 
modations  are  excellent.  They  comprise  our  bed 
rooms,  which  are  lofty,  airy,  and  convenient,  and  a 
salon,  that  would  be  esteemed  handsome  even  in 
Paris.  We  also  might  have  our  four  meals,  and  at 
our  own  hours :  dining,  however,  at  six  o'clock,  we 
dispense  with  the  supper.  The  master  of  the  house 
is  a  respectable,  and  an  exceedingly  well-behaved 
and  obliging  man,  who,  of  course,  allows  each  of  his 
guests,  except  those  who  voluntarily  choose  to  live  at 
his  table  cT  hote,  to  adopt  his  own  hours,  without  a 
murmur,  or  even  a  discontented  look.  I  believe  we 
might  dine  at  midnight,  if  we  would,  without  exciting 
his  surprise.  Cadwallader  tells  me  the  customs,  in 
this  respect,  vary  exceedingly  in  America ;  that  din 
ner  is  eaten  between  the  hours  of  two  and  six,  by 
people  in  genteel  life,  though  rarely  later  than  the 
latter  hour,  and  not  often  so  late.  The  table  cT  hole 
in  this  house  is  served  at  three. 

The  charges  are  far  from  dear,  where  we  are  es 
tablished,  though  it  is  one  of  the  most  expensive 
taverns  in  the  country.  The  price  for  the  rooms 


LA    FAYETTE.  51 

sounded  a  little  high  at  first ;  but  when  we  took  into 
view  the  style  of  the  accommodation,  the  excessive 
abundance,  as  well  as  the  quality  of  our  food,  and  the 
liberality  with  which  lights,  &c.  &c.,  were  furnished, 
we  found  them  much  lower  than  what  the  same 
articles  could  be  got  for  in  Paris,  and  vastly  lower 
than  in  London,  or  even  in  Liverpool.  But  of  all 
these  things  I  intend  to  give  some  one  of  you  (I  think 
it  must  be  the  colonel,  who  unites,  to  so  remarkable 
a  degree,  the  love  of  his  art  with  the  love  of  good 
cheer)  a  more  detailed  account  at  some  future  day. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  to  say,  that  La  Fayette  is 
lodged  in  the  same  house  with  ourselves.  He  is  liter 
ally  overwhelmed  with  kindness  and  honours.  Pleas 
ing  as  we  find  the  circumstance  in  itself,  I  fear  it  will 
oblige  us  to  seek  a  different  abode,  since  there  is  a 
throng  incessantly  at  the  door ;  well  dressed  and  or 
derly,  it  is  true,  but  still  a  throng.  The  very  boys 
are  eager  to  shake  his  hand,  and  thousands  of  bright 
eyes  are  turned  towards  the  windows  of  our  hotel  to 
catch  fleeting  glimpses  of  his  person.  His  stay  here 
is,  however,  limited  to  a  short  period,  an  old  engage 
ment  calling  him  to  Boston,  which,  during  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,  was  a  place  of  more  importance  than 
even  this  great  commercial  town.  Adieu. 


TO  SIR  £DWARD  WALLER,  BART 
Sec.  <fce. 


New-York,- 


*!N  consequence  of  this  temporary  separation  from 
Cadwallader,  1  was  left  for  a  few  days  the  master  of 
my  own  movements.  I  determined  to  employ  them 
in  a  rapid  excursion  through  a  part  of  the  eastern 
states  of  this  great  confederation,  in  order  to  obtain  a 
coup  deceit  of  a  portion  of  the  interior.  It  would  have 
been  the  most  obvious,  and  perhaps  the  most  pleasing 
route,  to  have  followed  the  coast  as  far  as  Boston : 
but  this  would  have  brought  me  in  the  train  of  La 
Fayette,  where  the  natural  aspect  of  society  was  dis 
turbed  by  the  universal  joy  and  excitement  produced 
by  his  reception.  I  chose,  therefore,  a  direction  far 
ther  from  the  water,  through  the  centre  of  Connecti 
cut,  entering  Massachusetts  by  its  southern  border, 
and  traversing  that  state  to  Vermont.  After  looking 
a  little  at  the  latter,  and  New-Hampshire,  I  returned 
through  the  heart  of  Massachusetts  to  Rhode  Island, 
re-entering  and  quitting  Connecticut  at  new  points, 
and  regaining  this  city  through  the  adjacent  county 
of  Westchester.  The  whole  excursion  has  exceeded 
a  thousand  miles,  though  the  distance  from  New- York 
has  at  no  time  been  equal  to  three  hundred.  By 
naming  some  of  the  principal  towns  through  which  I 
passed,  you  will  be  able  to  trace  the  route  on  a  map, 
and  may  better  understand  the  little  I  have  to  com 
municate.  I  entered  Connecticut  near  Danbury,  and 
left  it  at  Suffield,  having  passed  a  night  in  Hartford, 


*  The  commencement  of  this,  and  of  many  of  the  succeeding 
letters,  are  omitted,  since  they  contain  matter  already  known  to 
the  reader. 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY  VISITED.  53 

one  of  its  two  capital  towns.  The  river  was  follow 
ed  in  crossing  Massachusetts,  and  my  journey  in  Ver 
mont  terminated  at  Windsor.  I  then  crossed  the 
Connecticut  (river)  into  New-Hampshire,  to  Concord, 
and  turning  south,  re-entered  Massachusetts,  proceed 
ing  to  Worcester.  The  journey  from  this  point  back 
to  New-York  was  a  little  circuitous,  embracing  Provi 
dence  and  Newport,  in  Rhode  Island,  and  New-Lon 
don,  New-Haven  and  Fairfield,  in  Connecticut. 

As  experience  had  long  since  shown  me  that  the 
people  on  all  great,  and  much  frequented,  road?,  ac 
quire  a  species  of  conventional  and  artificial  charac 
ter,  I  determined,  if  possible,  to  penetrate  at  once  into 
that  part  of  the  country  within  my  reach,  which  might 
be  supposed  to  be  the  least  sophisticated,  and  which, 
of  course,  would  afford  the  truest  specimen  of  the 
national  character.  Cadwallader  has  examined  my 
track,  and  he  tells  me  I  have  visited  the  very  portion 
of  New-England,  which  is  the  best  adapted  to  such  an 
object.  I  saw  no  great  town  during  my  absence,  and 
if  I  travelled  much  of  the  time  amid  secluded  and 
peaceful  husbandmen,  I  occasionally  touched  at  points 
where  all  was  alive  with  the  bustle  and  activity  of 
commerce  and  manufactures. 

A  review  of  the  impressions  left  by  this  short  ex 
cursion  has  convinced  me  of  the  difficulty  of  convey 
ing  to  an  European,  by  the  pen,  any  accurate,  general 
impression,  of  even  the  external  appearance  of  this 
country.  What  is  so  true  of  one  part,  is  so  false  of 
the  others,  and  descriptions  of  sensible  things  which 
were  exact  a  short  time  since,  become  so  very  soon 
erroneous  through  changes,  that  one  should  hesitate 
to  assume  the  responsibility  of  making  them.  Still, 
such  as  they  are,  mine  are  at  your  service.  In  order, 
however,  to  estimate  their  value,  some  little  prelimi 
nary  explanation  may  be  necessary. 

The  six  eastern  states  of  this  union  comprise  what 
is  called  New-England.  Their  inhabitants  are  known 
F2 


54      EXPLANATION  OF  THE  TERM  YANKEE. 

here  by  the  familiar  name  of 'Yankees.1  This  word 
is  most  commonly  supposed  to  be  a  corruption  01 
'Yengeese,'  the  manner  in  which  the  Dative  tribes, 
first  known  to  the  colonists,  pronounced  'English.' 
Some,  however,  deny  this  derivation,  at  the  same  time 
that  they  confess  their  inability  to  produce  a  plausible 
substitute.  It  is  a  little  singular  that  the  origin  of  3 
soubriquet,  which  is  in  such  general  use,  and  which 
cannot  be  of  any  very  long  existence,  should  already 
be  a  matter  of  doubt.  It  is  said  to  have  been  used  by 
the  English  as  a  term  of  contempt,  when  the  American 
wTas  a  colonist,  and  it  is  also  said,  that  the  latter  often 
adopts  it  as  an  indirect  and  playful  means  of  retalia 
tion.  It  is  necessary  to  remember  one  material  distinc 
tion  in  its  use,  which  is  infallibly  made  by  every  Ame 
rican.  At  home,  the  native  of  even  New- York,  though 
of  English  origin,  will  tell  you  he  is  not  a  Yankee.  The 
term  here,  is  supposed  to  be  perfectly  provincial  in 
its  application  ;  being,  as  I  have  said,  confined  to  the 
inhabitants,  or  rather  the  natives,  of  New-England. 
But,  out  of  the  United  States,  even  the  Georgian  does 
not  hesitate  to  call  himself  a  '  Yankee.'  The  Ameri 
cans  are  particularly  fond  of  distinguishing  any  thing 
connected  with  their  general  enterprise,  skill,  or  repu 
tation,  by  this  term.  Thus,  the  southern  planter,  who  is 
probably  more  averse  than  any  other  to  admit  a  com 
munity  of  those  personal  qualities,  which  are  thought 
to  mark  the  differences  in  provincial  or  rather  state 
character,  will  talk  of  what  a  '  Yankee  merchant,'  a 
4  Yankee  negotiator,'  or  a  'Yankee  soldier,'  can  and 
has  done ;  meaning  always  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  I  have  heard  a  naval  officer  of  rank,  who  was 
born  south  of  the  Potomac,  and  whose  vessel  has  just 
been  constructed  in  this  port,  speak  of  the  latter  with 
a  sort  of  suppressed  pride,  as  a  '  Yankee  man-of-war.' 
Now,  I  had  overheard  the  same  individual  allude  to 
another  in  a  manner  that  appeared  reproachful,  and 
in  which  he  used  the  word  '  Yankee,'  with  peculiar 


GREAT    HARMONY    BETWEEN    THE    PEOPLE.         55 

emphasis.  Thus  it  is  apparent,  that  the  term  has  two 
significations  among  the  Americans  themselves,  one 
of  which  may  be  called  its  national,  and  the  other  its 
local  meaning.  The  New-Englandman  evidently 
exults  in  the  appellation  at  all  times.  Those  of  the 
other  states  with  whom  I  have  come  in  contact,  are 
manifestly  quite  as  well  pleased  to  lay  no  claim  to  the 
title,  though  all  use  it  freely,  in  its  foreign,  or  na 
tional  sense.  I  think  it  would  result  from  these  facts, 
that  the  people  of  New-England  are  thought,  by  the 
rest  of  their  countrymen,  to  possess  some  minor  points 
of  character,  in  which  the  latter  do  not  care  to  parti 
cipate,  and  of  which  the  New-Englandman  is  uncon 
scious,  or  in  which,  perhaps,  he  deems  himself  fortu 
nate,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  they  possess  certain 
other  and  more  important  qualities,  which  are  admit 
ted  to  be  creditable  to  the  whole  nation.  Cadwalla- 
der,  who  is  a  native  of  New- York,  smiled  when  I 
proposed  this  theory,  but  desired  me  to  have  a  little 
patience  until  I  had  been  able  to  judge  for  myself. 
After  all,  there  is  little  or  no  feeling  excited  on  the 
subject.  The  inhabitants  of  states,  living  a  thousand 
miles  asunder,  speak  of  each  other  with  more  kind 
ness,  in  common,  than  the  inhabitants  of  adjoining 
counties  in  England,  or  provinces  in  France.  Indeed, 
the  candour  and  manliness  with  which  the  northern 
man  generally  admits  the  acknowledged  superiority 
of  his  southern  countrymen,  on  certain  points,  and 
vice  versa,  is  matter  of  surprise  to  me,  who,  as  you 
know,  have  witnessed  so  much  illiberality  on  similar 
subjects,  among  the  natives  of  half  the  countries  of 
Europe. 

New- England  embraces  an  area  of  between  sixty 
and  seventy  thousand  square  miles.  Thus,  you  see, 
it  is  larger  in  extent  than  England  and  Wales  united. 
It  has  about  seven  hundred  miles  of  sea-coast,  and 
contains  a  population  of  something  less  than  1 ,800,000. 
This  would  give  about  twenty-seven  to  the  square 


5(3   RATE  OF  POPULATION  TO  THE  SQUARE  MILE. 

mile.  But  in  order  to  arrive  at  an  accurate  idea  of 
the  populousness  of  the  inhabited  parts  of  the  coun 
try,  it  is  necessary  to  exclude  from  the  calculation, 
that  part  of  it  which  is  not  peopled.  We  should 
then  reject  a  very  large  portion  of  Maine,  and  a  good 
deal  of  land  in  the  northern  parts  of  Vermont  and 
New-Hampshire,  including,  perhaps,  twenty  thousand 
square  miles.  This  estimate  would  leave  forty  inhab 
itants  to  the  square  mile.  But  we  will  confine  our 
selves  to  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode 
Island  ;  neither  of  which,  for  America,  has  an  unusual 
quantity  of  vacant  land.  Their  surface  embraces  about 
1 4,000  square  miles.  The  population  is  not  quite  a 
million.  This  will  give  an  average  of  a  little  less  than 
seventy  to  the  square  mile.  Here,  then,  we  have 
what  may  be  considered  the  maximum  of  the  density 
of  American  population  on  any  very  extended  surface. 
There  is  a  fair  proportion  of  town  and  country,  and 
a  more  equal  distribution  of  the  labour  of  society, 
between  commerce,  manufactures,  and  agriculture, 
than  perhaps  in  any  other  section  of  the  Union.  You 
are  not,  however,  to  suppose  that  this  amount  of  pop 
ulation  is  confined  to  these  three  states.  A  great  deal 
of  New- York,  Ohio,  and  Pennsylvania,  and  certain 
districts  in  many  other  states,  have  attained,  or  even 
exceed,  this  ratio.  Thus  the  highest  comparative  rate 
of  population  in  this  country,  estimating  it  in  districts 
of  any  considerable  extent,  is  a  little  less  than  that 
of  the  whole  kingdom  of  Denmark,  and  very  mate 
rially  exceeding  that  of  Spain. 

Still  you  will  scarcely  be  able  to  obtain  a  just  idea 
of  the  outward  appearance  of  New-England  from  a 
knowledge  of  these  facts.  You  must  have  often  ob 
served,  in  travelling  through  the  most  populous  coun 
tries  of  Europe,  how  few  of  their  people  are  seen. 
France,  for  instance,  only  shows  the  millions  with 
which  she  is  teeming,  in  her  cities  and  villages.  Nor 
are  you  struck  with  the  populousness  of  even  the 


DECEPTIVE  APPEARANCE  OF  POPULATION.     67 

latter,  unless  you  happen  to  enter  them  on  fetes,  or 
have  an  opportunity  of  examining  them  in  the  even 
ing,  after  the  labourers  have  returned  from  the  fields. 
This  is,  more  or  less,  true  with  every  other  country 
in  Europe.  Even  in  England,  one  does  not  see  much 
of  the  population  out  of  the  towns,  unless  at  fairs,  or 
merry-makings.  Now  1  <!o  not  remember  to  have 
ever  travelled  so  far  through  any  country  which  ap 
peared  more  populous  than  the  parts  of  New-England 
described.*  This  peculiarity  may  be  ascribed  to  sev 
eral  causes. 

The  whole  country  is  subdivided  into  small  free 
holds,  which  are  commonly  tilled  by  their  owners. 
The  average  size  of  these  estates  is  probably  less 
than  a  hundred  acres.  Each,  as  a  general  rule,  has 
its  house  and  out-houses.  These  buildings  are  usually 
very  near  the  public  roads,  and  consequently  in  plain 
view  of  the  traveller.  The  field  labour  is  also  com 
monly  done  at  no  great  distance  from  the  highway. 
In  addition  to  these  reasons,  the  Americans  are 
thought  to  perform  more  journeys,  and,  consequently, 
to  be  more  before  the  eye  of  their  visiters  than  com 
mon.  Cadwallader  accounts  for  the  latter  circum 
stance  in  various  ways.  The  greatness  of  the  inter 
mediate  distances  is  the  chief  of  his  reasons.  But  the 
mental  activity  of  the  people,  together  with  the  ab 
sence  of  want,  are  thought  to  have  a  proportionate  ' 
effect.  I  hear  wonders  of  the  throngs  that  are  seen, 
at  certain  seasons,  on  the  avenues  which  lead  from 
the  interior  to  any  of  the  great  markets.  My  com 
panion  assures  me  he  once  counted  eight  hundred 
wagons  in  the  distance  of  forty  miles,  most  of  which 
were  conveying  \\heat  t3  the  city  of  Albany.  On  the 
same  road  there  were  sixty  taverns  in  a  distance  of  as 
many  miles  ;  a  sufficient  proof  in  itself  of  the  amount 
of  travelling. 

*  Part  of  the  North  of  Italy  may,  perhaps,  be  exceptod. 


58  APPEARANCE    OF    COUNTRY, 

Now,  all  this  does  not  at  all  comport  with  our 
vague  European  notions  of  America.  We  are  apt  to 
imagine  it  a  thinly  populated,  wooded,  and  fertile, 
though  little  cultivated  region.  Thinly  populated  it 
assuredly  is,  when  the  whole  number  of  its  square 
miles  is  compared  to  the  whole  amount  of  its  popula 
tion.  But  from  what  I  have  seen  and  heard,  I  feel 
persuaded,  that  an  American,  who  understood  his 
ground,  might  conduct  a  stranger,  who  knew  nothing 
of  the  true  numbers  of  the  country,  over  a  territory 
which  shall  greatly  exceed  France  in  extent,  and 
leave  the  impression  on  the  mind  of  his  guest,  that  it 
was  more  populous  than  the  latter  kingdom.  In 
hazarding  this  opinion,  however,  I  except  the  effect 
of  the  great  towns,  and  of  the  villages  on  fete  days 
and  at  evenings.  In  continental  Europe  the  traveller 
often  feels  a  sense  of  loneliness,  though  surrounded 
by  millions  of  human  beings.  He  sees  no  houses  out 
of  the  villages  ;  he  meets  few  on  the  highways  ;  even 
the  field  labourers  are  half  the  time  removed  from 
sight,  and  when  he  enters  a  wood,  it  is  usually  a 
tenantless  forest.  In  the  parts  of  America  I  have  as 
yet  visited,  the  very  reverse  is  the  case.  Unless  in 
particular  instances,  houses  occurred  at  very  short 
intervals ;  the  highways  were  not  thronged  as  de 
scribed  by  Cadwallader,  it  is  true,  but  I  saw  more 
travellers  than  is  usual  in  the  season  of  harvest;  and 
1  scarcely  recollect  the  moment  when  my  eye  could 
not  discover  groups  of  field  labourers.  Of  wood 
there  was  certainly  plenty ;  but  of  forests,  with  the 
exception  of  now  and  then  a  mountain,  scarcely  any. 
At  the  latter  fact,  no  less  than  at  the  air  of  populous- 
ness  which  distinguishes  this  portion  of  the  country, 
1  have  been  greatly  surprised.  I  passed  several  com 
paratively  barren  tracts  which  were  suffered  to  sus 
tain  what  wood  they  might,  and  I  saw  ridges  of  un 
even,  broken  land,  that  probably  still  lay  in  theii 
native  shades;  but  the  character  of  the  whole  dis- 


WOOD FERTILITY    OF    SPOTS,    ETC.  59 

trict  was  that  of  a  succession  of  fields,  sprinkled  with 
houses,  and  embellished  with  little  groves,  that  were 
reserved  for  the  domestic  supply  of  their  respective 
owners.  Indeed,  in  some  quarters,  there,  actually 
appeared  less  wood  than  was  necessary,  when  it  is 
remembered  the  inhabitants  use  little  other  fuel,  and 
how  expensive  the  transportation  of  an  article  so 
heavy  soon  becomes. 

I  should  not  describe  New-England  as  a  particu 
larly  fertile  region.  A  large  proportion  of  its  surface, 
at  least  of  the  part  I  saw,  was  rugged  and  difficult  of 
tillage,  though  but  little  of  it  was  positively  s-terile. 
It  is  rather  a  grazing,  than  a  grain  country.  For  the 
former,  it  is  well  adapted ;  the  land  apparently  pro 
ducing  rich  and  sweet  grasses  in  almost  every  quar 
ter.  There  were,  however,  large  districts  of  deep 
alluvial  soil,  where  any  plant  that  will  thrive  in  this 
climate  might  be  successfully  grown.  I  scarcely  re 
member  so  beautiful  a  country,  or  a  more  fertile 
looking  one,  than  some  of  that  I  passed  along  the 
borders  of  the  Connecticut.  The  river  bottoms  were 
loaded  with  their  products,  and  the  adjacent  swells 
were  every  where  crowned  with  evidences  of  the 
abundance  they  had  lavished  on  their  possessors,  in 
the  shape  of  well-stored  barns  and  spacious  and  com 
fortable  dwellings.  In  this  excursion  I  first  saw  ex 
tensive  and  luxuriant  fields  of  that  favourite  Ameri 
can  plant — the  maize.  It  is  deemed  an  infallible  test 
of  the  quality  of  the  soil,  no  less  than  of  the  climate, 
throughout  most  of  the  Union.  Where  maize  will 
not  grow,  the  husbandman  is  reluctant  to  dwell.  It 
furnishes  a  healthful  nourishment  for  man  and  beast, 
nor  is  there  any  useful  animal  that  will  not  thrive 
upon  its  food.  I  do  not  think  I  passed  a  solitary  farm 
that  had  not  more  or  less  maize  in  cultivation.  It  is 
universally  called  "corn"  par  excellence.  As  it  is 
indigenous  to  the  country,  sometimes  the  word 
Indian  is  prefixed.  But  when  an  American  says 


60  MAIZE NEW-ENGLAND    VILLAGES. 

"  corn,"  he  invariably  means  "maize."  It  is  a  splen 
did  plant  as  it  grows  in  this  country,  surpassing  in 
appearance  any  other  that  appertains  to  husbandry. 
It  is  said  to  be  still  finer  and  more  luxuriant  to  the 
south,  but  to  me,  there  was  great  pleasure,  as  I  saw 
it  here,  in  gazing  at  its  broad,  gracefully  curving,  dark 
green  blades,  as  they  waved  in  the  wind.  It  was  in 
the  tassel,  and  its  ordinary  height  could  not  be  much 
less  than  eight  feet.  Many  fields  must  have  exceeded 
this  growth. 

New-England  may  justly  glory  in  its  villages  ! 
Notwithstanding  the  number  of  detached  houses  that 
are  every  where  seen,  villages  are  far  from  unfre- 
quent,  and  often  contain  a  population  of  some  two 
or  three  thousand.  In  space,  freshness,  an  air  ol 
neatness  and  of  comfort,  they  far  exceed  any  thing  1 
have  ever  seen,  even  in  the  mother  country.  With 
now  and  then  an  exception  of  some  one  among  them 
that  possesses  a  more  crowded,  commercial,  or  manu 
facturing  population,  than  common,  they  all  partake 
of  the  same  character.  I  have  passed,  in  one  day, 
six  or  seven  of  these  beautiful,  tranquil  and  enviable 
looking  hamlets,  for  not  one  of  which  have  I  been 
able  to  recollect  an  equal  in  the  course  of  all  my 
European  travelling.  They  tell  me,  here,  that  vil 
lages,  or  small  towns,  abound  in  the  newer  portions 
of  the  northern  and  western  states,  that  even  eclipse 
those  of  New-England,  since  they  unite,  to  all  the 
neatness  and  space  of  the  latter,  the  improvements 
of  a  still  more  modern  origin. 

In  order  to  bring  to  your  mind's  eye  a  sketch  of 
New-England  scenery,  you  are  to  draw  upon  your 
imagination  for  the  following  objects.  Fancy  your 
self  on  some  elevation  that  will  command  the  view 
of  a  horizon  that  embraces  a  dozen  miles.  The  coun 
try  within  this  boundary  must  be  undulating,  rising  in 
bold  swells,  or  occasionally  exhibiting  a  broken,  if  not 
a  ragged  surface.  But  these  inequalities  must  be 


A    NEW-ENGLANP    LANDSCAPE.  61 

counterbalanced  by  broad  and  rich  swales  of  land, 
that  frequently  spread  out  into  lovely  little  valleys. 
If  there  be  a  continued  range  of  precipitous  heights 
in  view,  let  it  be  clad  in  the  verdure  of  the  forest. 
If  not,  wood  must  be  scattered  in  profusion  over  the 
landscape,  in  leafy  shadows  that  cover  surfaces  of 
twenty  and  thirty  acres.  Buildings,  many  white,  re 
lieved  by  Venetian  blinds  in  green,  some  of  the  dun 
colour  of  time,  and  others  of  a  dusky  red,  must  be 
seen  standing  amid  orchards,  and  marking,  by  their 
positions,  the  courses  of  the  numberless  highways. 
Here  and  there,  a  spire,  or  often  two,  may  be  seen 
pointing  towards  the  skies  from  the  centre  of  a  cluster 
of  roofs.  Perhaps  a  line  of  blue  mountains  is  to  be 
traced  in  the  distance,  or  the  course  of  a  river  to  be 
followed  by  a  long  succession  of  fertile  meadows. 
The  whole  country  is  to  be  subdivided  by  low  stone 
walls,  or  wooden  fences,  made  in  various  fashions,  the 
quality  of  each  improving,  or  deteriorating,  as  you 
approach,  or  recede  from  the  dwelling  of  the  Qwner 
of  the  soil.  Cattle  nre  to  be  seen  grazing  in  the  fields, 
or  ruminating  beneath  the  branches  of  single  trees, 
that  are  left  for  shade  in  every  pasture,  and  flocks  are 
to  be  seen  clipping  the  closer  herbage  of  the  hill  sides. 
In  the  midst  of  this  picture  must  man  be  placed,  quiet, 
orderly,  and  industrious.  By  limiting  this  rural  pic 
ture  to  greater,  or  less  extensive,  scenes  of  similai 
quiet  and  abundance,  or  occasionally  swelling  it  out, 
until  a  succession  of  villages,  a  wider  range  of  hills, 
and  some  broad  valley,  through  which  a  third-rate 
American  river  winds  its  way  to  the  ocean,  are  in 
cluded,  your  imagination  can  embrace  almost  every 
variety  of  landscape  I  beheld  in  the  course  of  my 
journey. 

Concerning  the  character  of  the  people,  you  cannot 

expect  me  to  write  very  profoundly  on  so  short  an 

acquaintance.    In  order,  however,  that  you  may  know 

how  +o  estimate  the  value  of  the  opinions  I  shall  ven- 

G 


62        INTERCOURSE  WITH  THE  PEOPLE. 

ture  to  give,  it  is  necessary  that  you  should  learn  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  have  been  formed. 
Before  parting  from  Cadwallader,  I  requested  he 
would  give  me  some  brief  written  directions,  not  only 
of  the  route  I  was  to  pursue,  but  of  the  manner  in 
which  I  was  to  regulate  my  intercourse  with  the  peo 
ple.  I  extract  the  substance  of  his  reply,  omitting 
the  line  of  route  he  advised,  which  is  already  known 
to  you. 

"  As  respects  intercourse  with  the  inhabitants,  your 
path  is  perfectly  plain.  You  speak  the  language  with 
what  we  call  the  intonation  of  an  Englishman.  In 
America,  while  there  are  provincial,  or  state  peculi 
arities,  in  tone,  and  even  in  the  pronunciation  and 
use  of  certain  words,  there  is  no  patois.  An  Ameri 
can  may  distinguish  between  the  Georgian  and  the 
New-Englandman,  but  you  cannot.  In  this  particular 
our  ears  are  very  accurate,  and  while  we  can,  and 
do  pass  for  natives  every  day  in  England,  it  is  next  to 
impossible  for  an  Englishman  to  escape  detection  in 
America.  Five  out  of  six  of  the  whole  English  nation, 
let  them  be  educated  ever  so  much,  retain  something 
of  the  peculiarity  of  their  native  county.  The  excep 
tions  are  much  fewer  than  they  suppose  themselves, 
and  are  chiefly  in  the  very  highest  circles.  But  there 
is  also  a  slang  of  society  in  England,  which  forms  no 
part  of  the  true  language.  Most  of  those  who  escape 
the  patois,  adopt  something  of  the  slang  of  the  day. 
There  is  also  a  fashion  of  intonation  in  the  mother 
country  which  it  is  often  thought  vulgar  to  omit.  All 
these  differences,  with  many  others,  which  it  may  be 
curious  to  notice  hereafter,  mark  the  Englishman  at 
once.  I  think,  therefore,  you  will  be  mistaken  for  a 
native  of  some  of  the  less  accurate  counties  of  Eng 
land.  It  will,  in  consequence,  be  necessary  for  you 
to  be  more  on  your  guard  against  offence  than  if  you 
were  thought  a  German,  or  a  Frenchman.  The  rea 
sons  for  this  caution  are  perfectly  obvious.  It  is  not 


ENGLISH   TRAVELLERS.  63 

because  the  American  is  more  disposed  to  seek 
grounds  of  complaint  against  his  English  visiter,  but 
because  he  has  been  more  accustomed  to  find  them. 
All  young  travellers  are,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
grumblers ;  but  an  Englishman  is  proverbially  the. 
grumbler.  It  is  generally  enough  for  him,  that  he 
meets  an  usage  different  from  that  to  which  he  has 
been  accustomed,  to  condemn  it.  It  is  positively  true, 
that  an  intelligent  and  highly  talented  individual  of 
that  country,  once  complained  to  me,  that  in  the 
month  of  January  the  days  were  so  much  shorter  in 
New- York  than  in  London  !*  His  native  propensity 
had  blinded  him  to  the  material  fact,  that  the  former 
city  was  in  41  °,  while  the  latter  lay  10°  higher.  Now, 
the  Englishman  may  grumble  any  where  else  with 
more  impunity  than  in  America.  In  France,  in 
Germany,  or  in  Italy,  he  is  riot  often  understood,  and 
half  the  time,  a  Frenchman,  in  particular,  is  disposed 
to  think  his  country  is  receiving  compliments,  instead 
of  anathemas.  But  with  an  American,  there  can  of 
course  be  no  such  mistake.  He  not  only  understands 
the  sneer,  but  he  knows  whence  it  comes.  Though 
far  from  obtrusive  on  such  occasions,  it  is  not  rare 
for  the  offended  party  to  retort,  whenever  the  case 
will  admit  of  his  interference.  The  consequence  has 
been,  that,  as  a  class,  the  English  travellers  now  be 
have  themselves  better  in  America  than  in  any  other 
country.  But  a  character  has  been  gained,  and  it 
will  require  a  good  deal  of  time  to  eradicate  it.  The 
servant  of  the  respectable  Mr.  Hodgson  tells  his  mas 
ter  that  the  people  of  the  inns  "  are  surprised  to  find 
Englishmen  behave  so  well."  But  after  all,  with  a 


*  This  mistake  is  not,  in  truth,  as  absurd  as  it  first  seems.  The 
twilight,  in  high  latitudes,  serves  to  eke  out  the  day,  so  as  greatly 
to  subtract  from  the  amount  of  total  darkness.  Had  the  gentle 
man  in  question  chosen  any  other  part  of  England  than  London, 
he  might  have  found  some  pretext  for  his  opinion. 


64  NEW-ENGLAND   INN-KEEPER. 

great  deal  that  is  not  only  absurd,  but  offensive,  there 
is  something  that  may  be  excused  in  the  discontent 
of  an  Englishman,  when  travelling  in  a  foreign 
country.  The  wealth  of  an  immense  empire  has 
centered  at  home,  in  a  comparatively  diminutive  king 
dom,  and  he  who  can  command  a  tolerable  propor 
tion  of  that  wealth  may  purchase  a  degree  of  comfort 
that  is  certainly  not  to  be  obtained  out  of  it.  But 
comfort  is  not  the  only  consequence  of  those  broad 
distinctions  between  the  very  rich,  and  the  very 
poor.  It  is  saying  nothing  new,  to  say  that  the  lower 
orders  of  the  English,  more  particularly  those  who 
are  brought  in  immediate  contact  with  the  rich,  ex 
ceed  all  other  Christians  in  abject  servility  to  their 
superiors.  It  may  be  new,  but  in  reflecting  on  the 
causes,  you  will  perceive  it  is  not  surprising,  that  on 
the  contrary,  the  common  American  should  be  more 
natural,  and  less  reserved  in  his  communications  with 
men  above  him  in  the  scale  of  society,  than  the 
peasant  of  Europe.  While  the  English  traveller,  there 
fore,  is  more  exacting,  the  American  labourer  is  Jess 
disposed  to  be  submissive  than  usual.  But  every  atten 
tion  within  the  bounds  of  reason  will  be  shown  you, 
though  it  is  no.t  thought  in  reason,  in  New-England 
especially,  that  one  man  should  assume  a  tone  of  con 
firmed  superiority  over  the  rest  of  mankind,  merely 
because  he  wears  a  better  coat,  or  has  more  money 
in  his  purse.  Notwithstanding  this  stubborn  temper 
of  independence,  no  man  better  understands  the  obli 
gations  between  him  who  pays,  and  him  who  re 
ceives,  than  the  native  of  New-England.  The  inn 
keeper  of  Old  England,  and  the  inn-keeper  of  New- 
England,  form  the  very  extremes  of  their  class.  The 
one  is  obsequious  to  the  rich,  the  other  unmoved,  and 
often  apparently  cold.  The  first  seems  to  calculate 
at  a  glance,  the  amount  of  profit  you  are  likely  to 
leave  behind  you  ;  while  his  opposite  appears  only  to 
calculate  in  what  manner  he  can  most  contribute  to 


HIS  CHARACTER  AND  SITUATION  IN  LIFE.          6b 

your  comfort,  without  materially  impairing  his  own 
It  is  a  mistake,  however,  that  the  latter  is  filled  with 
a  sense  of  his  own  imaginary  importance.  It  troubles 
him  as  little  as  the  subject  does  any  other  possessor 
of  a  certain  established  rank,  since  there  is  no  one  to 
dispute  it.  He  is  often  a  magistrate,  the  chief  of  a 
battalion  of  militia,  or  even  a  member  of  a  state  legis 
lature.  He  is  almost  always  a  man  of  character;  for 
it  is  difficult  for  any  other  to  obtain  a  license  to  ex 
ercise  the  calling.  If  he  has  the  pride  of  conscious 
superiority,  he  is  not  wanting  in  its  principles.  He 
has  often  even  more :  he  has  frequently  a  peculiar 
pride  in  his  profession.  I  have  known  a  publican, 
who  filled  a  high  and  responsible  situation  in  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  first  state  of  this  confederation,  offi 
ciously  convey  my  baggage  to  a  place  of  security,  be 
cause  he  thought  it  was  his  duty  to  protect  my  prop 
erty  when  under  his  roof.  An  English  inn-keeper 
would  not  have  impaired  his  domestic  importance 
by  such  an  act.  He  would  have  called  upon  John, 
the  head-waiter,  and  John  would  probably  have 
bid  Thomas  Ostler,  or  Boots,  to  come  to  his  as 
sistance.  In  both  cases,  the  work  would  be  done,  I 
grant  you  ;  but  under  very  different  feelings.  I  pro 
fess  to  no  more  knowledge  of  the  boasted  English 
inn-keeper,  than  what  any  one  may  gain,  who  has 
travelled  among  them,  in  every  manner,  from  a  seat 
on  the  top  of  a  stage-coach,  to  one  in  a  post-chaise 
and  four.  But,  with  the  publican  of  New-England, 
I  have  a  long  and  intimate  acquaintance,  and  I  fear 
lessly  affirm,  that  he  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
and  groundless  calumn). 

"If  servility,  an  air  of  cmpressement,  and  a  merce 
nary  interest  in  your  comforts,  form  essentials  to  your 
happiness  and  self-complacency,  England,  with  a  full 
pocket,  against  the  world.  But,  if  you  can  be  con 
tent  to  receive  consistent  civility,  great  kindness,  and 
a  temperate  respect,  in  which  he  who  serves  you 
G2 


66  DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  INN-KEEPERS. 

consults  his  own  character  no  less  than  yours,  and  all 
at  a  cheap  rate,  you  will  travel  not  only  in  New- 
England,  but  throughout  most  of  the  United  States 
with  perfect  satisfaction.  God  protect  the  wretch 
whom  poverty  and  disease  shall  attack  in  an  English 
inn  !  Depend  on  it,  their  eulogies  have  been  written 
by  men  who  were  unaccustomed  to  want.  It  is  even 
a  calamity  to  be  obliged  to  have  a  saving  rega  d  to 
the  contents  of  your  purse,  under  the  observation  of 
their  mercenary  legions  !  There  seems  an  intuitive 
ability  in  all  that  belongs  to  them,  to  graduate  your 
wealth,  your  importance,  and  the  extent  of  their  own 
servility.  Now,  on  the  other  hand,  a  certain  reason 
ing  distinction  usually  controls  the  manner  in  which 
the  American  inn-keeper  receives  his  guests.  He  pays 
greater  attention  to  the  gentleman  than  to  the  tin- 
pedlar,  because  he  knows  it  is  necessary  to  the  habits 
of  the  former,  and  because  he  thinks  it  is  no  more 
than  a  just  return  for  the  greater  price  he  pays.  Bui 
he  is  civil,  and  even  kind,  to  both  alike.  He  some 
times  makes  blunders,  it  is  true,  for  he  meets  with 
characters  that  are  new  to  him,  or  is  required  to  de 
cide  on  distinctions  of  which  he  has  no  idea.  A  hale, 
well-looking,  active,  and  intelligent  American,  will 
scarcely  ever  submit  his  personal  comforts,  or  the 
hourly  control  of  his  movements,  to  the  caprices  of 
another,  by  becoming  a  domestic  servant.  Neither 
would  the  European,  if  he  could  do  any  thing  better. 
It  is  not  astonishing,  therefore,  that  a  publican,  in  a 
retired  quarter  of  the  country,  should  sometimes  be 
willing  to  think  that  the  European  servants  he  sees, 
are  entitled  to  eat  with  their  masters,  or  that  he  calls 
both  'gentlemen.'  A  striking  and  national  trait  in 
the  American,  is  a  constant  and  grave  regard  to  the 
feelings  of  others.  It  is  even  more  peculiar  to  New- 
England,  than  to  any  other  section  of  our  country. 
It  is  the  best  and  surest  fruit  of  high  civilization.  Not 
that  civilization  which  chisels  marble  and  gilds  salon.s% 


ADVICE  TO  TRAVELLERS.  67 

ut  that  which  marks  the  progress  of  reason,  and 
which,  under  certain  circumstances,  makes  men  pol« 
ished,  and,  under  all,  renders  them  humane.  In  this 
particular,  America  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  most 
civilized  nation  in  the  world,  inasmuch  as  the  aggre 
gate  of  her  humanity,  intelligence  and  comfort,  com 
pared  with  her  numbers,  has  nothing  like  an  equal. 
"  From  these  facts,  you  may  easily  glean  a  know 
ledge  of  the  personal  treatment  you  are  likely  to  re 
ceive  in  your  approaching  excursion.  There  will  be 
an  absence  of  many  of  those  forms  to  which  you  have 
been  accustomed,  but  their  place  will  be  supplied  by 
a  disinterested  kindness,  that  it  may  require  time  to 
understand,  but  which,  once  properly  understood, 
can  never  be  supplied  by  any  meretricious  substitute. 
I  never  knew  an  American  of  healthful  feelings,  who 
did  not  find  more  disgust  than  satisfaction,  in  the  ob 
sequiousness  of  the  English  domestics.  For  myself, 
I  will  avow  that  the  servility,  which  I  can  readily 
understand  may  become  so  necessary  by  indulgence, 
gave  me  a  pain  that  you  will,  perhaps,  find  it  difficult 
to  comprehend.  I  do  not  say  it  may  not  be  necessary 
in  Europe,  particularly  in  England,  but  1  do  say,  thank 
God,  it  is  not  necessary  here. 

"  It  will  be  prudent,  at  all  times,  to  treat  those  who 
serve  you  with  great  attention  to  their  feelings.  An 
instance  may  serve  as  an  example.  A  few  years  since, 
I  was  in  a  boat,  on  one  of  our  interior  waters,  accom 
panied  by  a  fine,  gentlemanlike,  manly,  aristocratic 
young  Englishman.  One  of  the  boatmen  incommoded 
us  with  his  feet.  4Go  forward,  Sir,'  said  my  English 
companion,  in  a  tone  that  would  have  answered  bet 
ter  on  the  Thames,  than  on  the  Cayuga.  The  boat 
man  looked  a  little  surprised,  and  a  good  deal  deter 
mined.  There  was  an  evident  struggle,  between  his 
pride  and  his  desire  not  to  give  offence  to  a  stranger. 

We  have  scarcely  room  here  for  our  feet,'  I  observed ; 
you  will  go  forward,  we  shall  be  more  comfort- 


68  ADVICE   TO  TRAVELLERS. 

able.'  '  Oh  !  with  all  my  heart,  Sir,'  returned  the 
who  complied  without  any  further  hesitation.  The 
same  individual,  if  left  to  his  own  suggestions,  or  not 
assailed  in  his  pride,  would  probably  have  plunged 
into  the  lake  for  our  pleasure,  and  that,  too,  without 
stopping  to  consider  whether  he  was  to  get  six-pence 
for  his  ducking.  With  this  single  caution  you  may  go 
from  Maine  to  Georgia  with  perfect  safety,  and,  most 
of  the  distance,  with  sufficient  comfort ;  often  with 
more  even  than  in  England,  and,  generally,  at  a  price 
which,  compared  with  what  you  receive,  is  infinitely 
below  the  cheapest  rate  of  travelling  in  any  part  of 
Europe.  It  is  a  ludicrous  mistake,  that  you  must  treat 
every  American  as  your  companion  in  society,  but  it 
is  very  necessary  that  he  should  be  treated  as  your 
equal  in  the  eye  of  God." 

I  must  leave  you,  for  the  moment,  with  this  morceau 
from  the  pen  of  Cadwallader,  who  writes  as  he  speaks, 
like  a  man  who  thinks  better  of  his  countrymen  than 
we  have  been  accustomed  to  believe  they  deserve, 
I  must  postpone,  to  my  next,  the  commentaries  that 
my  own  trifling  experience  has  suggested  on  his  the 
ory. — Adieu. 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART.  : 
Sec.  &c. 

New-York, 


ALTHOUGH  stages,  as  the  public  coaches  are,  by 
corruption,  called  in  this  country,  run  on  most  of  the 
roads  travelled  in  my  recent  journey,  \  decided  to 
make  the  excursion,  at  a  little  cost,  in  a  private  con 
veyance.  A  neat,  light,  and  elegant  pleasure-wagon 
on  horizontal  springs,  with  a  driver  and  a  pair  of  fleet, 


ISLAND  OF  MANHATTAN.  69 

well-formed  horses,  were  procured  for  five  dollars 
a  day.  A  coach  might  have  been  had  for  the  same 
sum.  This  price,  however,  was  the  highest,  and  in- 
eluded  every  charge.  There  was  ample  room  for 
Fritz  and  myself,  with  what  baggage  we  needed,  and 
a  vacant  seat  by  the  side  of  the  coachman.  Capa 
cious  leather  tops  protected  us  from  the  weather,  and 
good  aprons  could,  if  necessary,  cover  our  feet.  In 
short,  the  vehicle,  which  is  exceedingly  common 
here,  is  not  unlike  what  is  called  a  double,  or  travel 
ling,  phaeton,  in  England.  You  are  to  remember, 
there  is  no  travelling  post  in  America.  Relays  of 
horses  can  certainly  be  had,  between  the  principal 
towns,  at  a  reasonably  short  notice ;  but  the  great 
facility,  rapidity,  ease,  and  cheapness  of  communica 
tion  by  steam-boats,  will  probably  for  a  long  time 
prevent  posting  from  coming  into  fashion. 

We  left  Manhattan  island,  on  which  New-York 
stands,  by  a  long  wooden  bridge  that  connects  it  with 
the  adjacent  county  of  West-Chester.  There  is  a 
singular  air  of  desertion  about  that  portion  of  this 
island  which  is  not  covered  by  the  town,  and  which 
I  was  inclined  to  ascribe  to  a  sort  of  common  ex 
pectation  in  its  owners  that  the  ground  would  be 
soon  wanted  for  other  purposes  than  plantations  of 
trees,  or  pleasure-grounds.  It  is  said,  however,  that 
a  delay  in  the  regulation  of  the  great  avenues  and 
future  streets  of  the  city,  has  produced  the  apparent 
neglect.  Let  the  cause  be  what  it  may,  I  do  not 
remember  ever  to  have  seen  the  immediate  environs 
of  so  large  a  town  in  such  a  state  of  general  aban 
donment.  The  island  is  studded  with  villas,  cer 
tainly  ;  but  even  most  of  these  seemed  but  little 
cared  for.  I  did  not,  however,  get  a  view  of  those 
which  lie  on  the  two  rivers.* 


*  Vast  improvements  have  been  made,  in  this   part  of  the 
'aland,  within  the  last  three  years. 


70  HIGHWAYS. 

I  found  West-Chester  a  constant  succession  of  hills 
and  dales,  with  numbeness  irregular  little  valleys, 
though  with  nothing  that,  in  English,  is  called  a 
mountain.  The  description  I  have  given  you,  in  my 
last  letter,  of  the  general  appearance  of  New-Eng 
land,  will  answer  perfectly  well  also  for  this  portion 
of  New-York.  The  villages  were  neither  so  beau 
tiful,  nor  so  numerous,  as  those  I  afterwards  passed ; 
but  in  the  character  of  the  land,  the  situation  and 
number  of  the  farm-houses,  the  multitude  of  high 
ways,  the  absence  of  forests,  and  the  abundance  of 
little  groves,  the  two  districts  are  precisely  the  same. 
As  respects  the  great  frequency  of  the  public  roads, 
the  peculiarity  is  subject  to  a  very  simple  explanation. 
You  will  remember  the  whole  country  is  subdivided 
into  the  small  freeholds  mentioned,  and  that  each 
citizen  has  a  claim  to  have  access  to  his  farm.  Each 
township,  as  parishes,  or  cantons,  are  here  called, 
has  the  entire  control  of  all  the  routes  within  its  own 
limits,  unless  the  road  be  the  property  of  a  chartered 
company.  These  highways  are  periodically  worked 
by  the  inhabitants,  agreeably  to  a  rate  of  assessment, 
which  is  regulated  according  to  the  personal  means 
of  each  individual.  Every  thing  of  a  public  nature, 
that  will  readily  admit  of  such  an  intervention,  is,  in 
this  republican  government,  controlled  by  the  people 
in  their  original  character.  Thus,  all  the  officers  of 
each  town  are  annually  elected,  by  its  inhabitants,  in 
what  are  called  "  the  town-meetings/''  These  officers 
comprise  the  assessors  of  taxes,  their  collectors,  the 
overseers  of  the  highways,  &c.  fee.,  and,  in  short,  the 
whole  of  its  police,  with,  perhaps,  the  exception  of 
the  magistrates,  who  receive  their  appointments  from 
different  sources.  Now,  it  is  evident,  that  when  the 
power  to  construct  and  to  repair  roads  and  bridges  is 
removed,  by  so  short  an  interval,  from  those  who  are 
most  affected  by  their  position  and  condition,  that  the 
public  servants^  as  the  officers  are  here  emphatically 


HIGHWAYS.  71 

called,  must  pay  the  utmost  deference  to  the  public 
will.  The  ordinary  routes  of  the  country  are,  there 
fore,  arranged  in  such  a  manner  as  will  most  accom 
modate  those  who  work  them.  But,  as  this  arrange 
ment  must  often  produce  conveniences  that  are  more 
likely  to  satisfy  individuals  than  the  public,  great 
routes  that  unite  important  points  of  the  country,  are 
often  substituted  for  the  local  highways.  These  great 
routes  are  constructed  on  two  plans.  In  cases  where 
the  convenience  of  the  public  requires  it,  laws  are 
enacted  for  the  purpose  by  the  legislatures,  and  the 
route  is  made  what  is  called  a  state-road.  In  others, 
where  it  is  believed  capitalists  may  be  induced  to 
invest  their  money,  charters  are  given,  a  rate  of  toll 
established,  and  the  road  becomes  the  property  of  a 
company.  The  latter  are  numerous  in  New-England, 
nor  are  the  charges  at  all  high. 

It  is  evident  that  the  labour  of  constructing  the 
vast  number  of  roads  and  bridges  which  are  neces 
sary  to  satisfy  the  public  and  private  wants  of  a  com 
munity  that  does  not  exceed  the  population  of  Prus 
sia,  throughout  a  country  as  large  as  half  Europe, 
must  be  exceedingly  burthensome.  What  I  have 
already  seen,  however,  has  given  me  the  most  re 
spectful  opinion  of  the  native  energy  of  this  people ; 
but  I  shall  not  anticipate  impressions,  which  may  be 
increased,  or,  possibly,  changed,  as  I  "  prick  deeper 
into  the  bowels  of  the  land."  Thus  far  I  can  say, 
that  nowhere,  including  great  routes  and  cross-roads, 
have  I  found  better  highways  than  in  New-England, 
the  mother  country  alone  excepted.  If  the  former 
are  not  so  good  as  in  England,  the  latter  are,  how 
ever,  often  better.  Perhaps  I  travelled  at  a  favour 
able  time  of  the  year;  but  the  bridges,  the  cause 
ways,  the  diggings,  and  the  levellings,  must  be  there 
at  all  seasons. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  my  coachman, 
while  trotting  leisurely  along  an  excellent  path, 


72  EXEMPTIONS  FROM  VISITS  OF  THE   POLICE. 

through  a  retired  part  of  the  country,  pointed  a-head 
with  his  whip,  and  told  me  we  were  about  to  enter 
the  State  of  Connecticut.  One  hand  was  mechanic 
ally  thrust  into  my  pocket,  in  search  of  a  passport 
and  a  glance  of  the  eye  was  thrown  at  the  trunks,  in 
order  to  recall  the  nature  of  the  contraband  articles 
they  might  happen  to  contain.  A  moment  of  thought 
recalled  me  to  a  sense  of  my  actual  position,  and  of 
the  extraordinary  extent  of  the  personal  freedom  in 
which  I  was  indulged.  One  of  my  first  questions,  on 
landing,  had  been  to  inquire  for  the  Bureau  of  the 
Police,  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  permission  to 
remain  in  the  country,  and  to  visit  the  interior.  The 
individual  in  the  hotel,  to  whom  I  addressed  myself, 
did  not  understand  me  !  Further  inquiry  told  me  that 
such  things  were  utterly  unknown  in  America.  My 
baggage  was  passed  at  the  Custom-house  without 
charge  of  any  sort,  except  a  trifling  official  fee  for  a 
permit  to  land  it ;  nor  did  any  one  present  himself 
to  ask  or  claim  compensation  for  what  I  could  have 
done  better  without  him.  I  paid  a  cartman  half-a- 
dollar  for  transporting  the  trunks  to  my  lodgings, 
where,  assisted  by  the  servants  of  the  house,  they 
were  placed  in  the  proper  room,  and  then  every  body 
silently  disappeared,  as  if  no  more  had  been  done 
than  what  was  naturally  required  by  the  circum 
stances.  These  were  the  whole  of  the  ceremonials 
observed  at  my  landing  in  America.  My  entrance 
into  Connecticut  was  not  distinguished  by  any  more 
remarkable  incidents.  "When  shall  we  reach  the 
frontier?"  I  asked  of  the  coachman,  after  a  little 
delay.  "  I  believe  the  line  is  along  the  wall  of  that 
field,"  he  said,  pointing  carelessly  behind  him.  "  What ! 
is  there  nothing  else  to  distinguish  the  boundary  be 
tween  two  independent  sovereignties?  No  officers  of 
the  customs,  no  agents  of  the  police,  nor  any  one  to 
ask  us  where  we  go,  or  whence  we  come  ?"  The 
driver  looked  at  me,  as  if  he  distrusted  my  reason  a 


CONNEXION  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  STATES.  73 

Httle ;  but  he  continued  mute.  This  silent  passage 
from  one  state  to  another,  gave  me  the  first  true  im 
pression  I  have  obtained  of  the  intimate  nature  of  the 
connexion  which  unites  this  vast  confederation.  One 
may  study  its  theory  on  paper  for  a  twelvemonth, 
without  arriving  at  so  just  a  conception  of  the  identity 
of  the  national  character  and  interests  of  this  people 
as  I  have  acquired  in  visiting,  in  the  same  quiet  man 
ner,  six  of  their  sovereignties,  and  in  finding  every 
where  so  great  a  similarity  of  manners,  customs,  and 
opinions,  unmolested  by  a  single  official  form.  There 
is  something  like  it,  certainly,  in  your  own  country ; 
but  you  are  governed  by  one  prince,  one  minister 
and  one  parliament.  Here,  each  state  enacts  its  own 
laws,  levies  its  own  taxes,  and  exercises  all  the  more 
minute  and  delicate  functions  of  sovereign  power 
The  United  States  of  America  is  the  only  civilized 
country,  I  believe,  into  which  a  stranger  can  entei 
without  being  liable  to  intrusions  on  his  privacy  by 
the  agents  of  the  police.*  Assuredly  this  power  is 
now  used,  throughout  all  Europe,  with  great  discre 
tion  and  moderation;  but  that  country  may  deem 
itself  happy,  that  never  feels  any  necessity  for  its  ex 
ercise.  To  what  is  this  peculiar  freedom  owing  ?  To 
their  position,  their  spare  population, — to  the  absence 
or  to  the  height  of  civilization  ?  Colombia,  and  Mex 
ico,  and  Brazil,  and  a  dozen  others,  are  just  as  remote 
from  Europe,  and  far  less  populous.  Absence  of 
civilization  is  not  denoted  by  absence  of  restraint,  in 
countries  where  life,  character,  and  property  are  more 
than  usually  respected.  I  fear,  Waller,  that  we  have 
been  too  apt  to  confound  these  Americans  with  their 
soil,  and  to  believe  that,  because  the  one  is  fresh,  the 
other  must  also  exist  in  the  first  stages  of  society.  At 
all  events,  if  not  far  beyond  the  rest  of  the  world  in 

*  Possibly  some  of  the  British  colonies  can  claim  nearly  the 
same  exemptioas  from  the  interference  of  the  police. 

H 


74          PASSAGE  OF  A  STATE  FRONTIER, 

the  great  desiderata  of  order  and  reason,  they  have 
some  most  ingenious  methods  of  imposing  on  the  senses 
of  a  traveller,  who,  I  can  affirm,,  is  often  at  an  nttei 
loss  to  discover  the  machinery  by  which  the  wheela 
of  the  social  engine  are  made  to  roll  on  so  smoothly 
so  swiftly,  and  so  cheap.  I  have  not  seen  a  bayonet 
(except  among  the  militia  who  received  La  Fayettey) 
a  gendarme,  a  horse-patrol,  a  constable,  (to  know 
him,)  nor  a  single  liveried  agent  of  this  secret  power. 
In  short,  if  one  should  draw  somewhat  literally  on  the 
ten  commandments  for  rules  to  govern  his  intercourse 
with  those  around  him,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  he  might 
pass  his  whole  life  here  without  necessarily  arriving 
at  the  practical  knowledge  that  there  is  any  govern 
ment  at  all. 

"  Now  we  are  in  New- York  again,"  said  my  driver, 
some  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  after  he  had  assured  me 
we  had  entered  Connecticut.  The  apparent  contra 
diction  was  explained  by  a  winding  in  the  road,  which 
had  led  us  through  the  extreme  point  of  an  angle  of 
the  latter  state.  I  looked  around  me  in  every  direc 
tion,  in  order  to  discover  if  the  least  trace  of  any 
differences  in  origin,  or  customs,  could  be  seen.  ] 
remembered  to  have  heard  Cadwallader  say,  that  the 
effects  of  the  policy  pursued  by  the  different  States 
were  sometimes  visible,  to  an  observant  traveller,  aJ 
a  glance,  and  that  he  could  often  tell  when  he  had 
passed  a  State  line,  by  such  testimony  as  his  eye  alone 
could  gather.  As  I  could  not  then,  nor  have  not 
since,  been  ^ble  to  detect  any  of  these  evidences  of  a 
different  policy,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  Ame 
ricans  themselves  make  some  such  distinctions  in  the 
case,  as  those  by  which  the  connoisseurs  can  tell  the 
colouring  of  one  painter  from  that  of  another,  or  those 
by  which  they  know  the  second  manner  of  the  divine 
master  of  the  art  from  his  third.* 

*  A  more  intelligible  distinction  certainly  became  apparent 
between  the  slave-holding  and  non-slave-holding  states. 


JOHN    JAY.  75 

Before  leaving  the  State  of  New-  Vfork  the  second 
time,  T  had  an  opportunity  of  paying  a  short  visit  to 
one  of  those  distinguished  men,  who,  by  acting  with 
so  much  wisdom,  moderation,  dignity,  and  firmness, 
during  the  dark  days  of  this  republic,  imparted  to  its 
revolution  a  reputation  that  is  peculiarly  their  own. 
I  have  ever  been  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  con 
duct  of  the  Americans  throughout  those  trying  scenes 
They  need  not  hesitate  to  place  it  with  confidence  in 
comparison  with  any  thing  that  history  may  boast. 
The  deeds  of  the  eighteenth  century  are  less  equivo 
cal  than  the  patriotism  of  Brutus,  or  the  clemency  of 
Scipio.  Men  are  far  more  likely  now  to  be  judged 
by  their  acts  than  their  words,  though  even  this  direct 
and  literal  people  have  uttered  sentiments,  which, 
by  their  simplicity  and  truth,  are  entitlet^to  be  placed 
on  the  same  page  with  the  finest  sayings  of  antiquity. 
The  agents  of  the  British  government,  who  wished  to 
tamper  with  the  loyalty  of  a  distinguished  patriot,  re 
ceived  an  answer  that  would  have  done  honour  to 
any  Roman.  "  Tell  your  employer,"  said  the  stern 
republican,  "  that  I  am  not  worth  buying ;  but  such 
as  I  am,  the  king  of  England  is  not  rich  enough  to 
make  the  purchase !" 

The  individual  at  whose  residence  I  paid  a  passing 
visit,  as  a  species  of  homage  due  to  public  virtue,  was 
John  Jay.  This  distinguished  statesman  had  dis 
charged  many  of  the  public  trusts  of  his  country,  at  a 
time  when  life  and  death  hung  on  the  issue.  He  was 
President  of  Congress  during  the  war  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  before  the  present  system  was  adopted,  and  when 
the  country  possessed  no  officer  of  higher  dignity,  01 
greater  power.*  He  was,  however,  early  sent  on 

*  A  mistake  is  often  made  in  Europe,  by  blending  this  ancient 
officer  with  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Before  the  pres 
ent  constitution  was  adopted',  (1789,)  there  was  a  President  of 
Congress.  At  present.  Congress  is  divided  into  two  branches,  a 


76         HIS  SERVICES,  AND  PRESENT  RETIREMENT. 

foreign  missions  of  great  delicacy,  and  of  the  last  in* 
portance.  He  resided  a  long  time  in  Spain,  unac 
knowledged,  it  is  true,  but  eminently  serviceable  by 
tbe  weight  of  his  charactei  t  and  the  steadiness  of  his 
deportment.  He  signed  the  treaty  of  peace,  (in  con 
junction  with  Franklin  and  the  elder  Adams,)  having 
a  singularly  important  agency  in  bringing  about  thai 
event  which  secured  an  acknowledgment  of  his  coun 
try's  independence,  and  he  negotiated  the  first  treaty 
of  commerce  and  amity  with  Great  Britain.  An  anec 
dote  concerning  the  second  of  these  treaties  had  been 
related  to  me,  which  is  worthy  of  repetition,  though  I 
dare  not  give  you  any  better  authority  for  its  correct 
ness,  than  to  say  that  it  is  of  such  a  nature  that  I  be 
lieve  the  circumstances,  as  I  am  about  to  relate  them, 
are  essentially  true.  Indeed,  it  was  one  of  the  chief 
inducements  I  felt  for  intruding  on  the  privacy  of  a 
man,  whose  past  life  and  present  character  impart 
a  dignity  that  should  render  his  retirement  almost 
sacred. 

You  undoubtedly  know  that,  during  the  American 
war,  an  alliance  was  formed  between  France  and  the 


Senate  and  a  House  of  Representatives,  each  of  which  has  its 
presiding  officer.  The  Vice-President.  of  the  United  States  is, 
ex  officio,  the  head  of  the  Senate,  though  a  substitute,  to  act  on 
occasion,  is  always  appointed,  who  is  called  the  President  of  the 
Senate.  The  style  by  which  the  Vice-President  is  addressed  in 
the  Senate,  is  "Mr.  President."  The  House  of  Representatives 
has  a  Speaker,  like  the  English  parliament — he  is  addressed  as 
**Mr.  Speaker."  An  individual  who  belongs  to  the  lower  house 
is,  in  common  parlance,  called  a  member  of  Congress,  and  one  of 
the  upper,  a  senator,  or  a  member  of  the  Senate.  These  distinc 
tions,  with  some  trifl,ing  exceptions,  are  observed  in  all  the  state 
legislatures,  where  the  lieutenant-governors  commonly  perform 
the  duties  in  the  upper  houses,  that  the  Vice-President  discharges 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  Thus,  though  there  is  a 
President  of  the  United  States,  a  President  of  the  Senate  (the 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States),  and  a  Speaker  of  the  Houso 
of  Representatives,  there  is  no  such  officer  now  known  to  tne 
country  as  a  "  President  of  Congress." 


ANECDOTE  OF  THE  TREATY  OF  1783.     77 

new  power.  One  of  the  customary  conditions  of  this 
treaty  was  a  stipulation  that  peace  should  not  he 
made  by  either  party  without  the  consent  of  both. 
When  England  had  become  sufficiently  prepared  by 
her  reverses  to  listen  to  amicable  propositions,  the 
American  government  ordered  their  minister  in  Spain 
(Mr.  Jay),  and  their  minister  in  Holland  (Mr.  Adams) 
to  proceed  to  Paris,  and  by  uniting  themselves  to  the 
minister  in  France  (Dr.  Franklin),  to  form  a  commis 
sion  authorized  to  manage  the  expected  negotiation 
on  the  part  of  the  new  republic.  The  latter  of  these 
gentlemen  had  been  long  accredited  near  the  court 
of  Versailles,  where,  by  a  happy  union  of  great  sim 
plicity  of  manners,  wisdom,  and  wit,  he  had  become 
an  object  of  singular  admiration  and  affection.  But 
the  Americans  say,  that  Franklin  was  a  much  better 
philosopher  than  politician.  Be  this  as  it  might,  the 
story  adds,  that  France,  now  the  drama  was  about  to 
close,  began  to  cast  about  her  for  the  profits  of  the 
representation.  The  Count  de  Vergennes  had  early 
succeeded  in  persuading  Dr.  Franklin,  that  as  England 
could  not,  nor  would  not,  formally  acknowledge  the 
independence  of  America,  his  better  course  would  be 
to  accept  'a  truce,  for  twenty  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  period  his  country  would  be  sufficiently  strong 
to  take  what  she  needed  for  herself.  The  philosopher 
is  said  to  have  acquiesced  in  this  opinion,  and  began 
to  stir  his.  mighty  reason  in  maturing  the  terms  of  this 
remarkable  truce.  In  this  state  of  mind  he  was  found 
by  Mr.  Jay,  on  his  arrival  from  Madrid.  The  latter 
was  not  slow  to  perceive  the  effects  of  such  a  course, 
nor  to  detect  the  secret  source  whence  the  insidious 
counsel  flowed.  His  eyes  had  not  been  dazzled  by 
the  splendour  of  a  luxurious  court,  nor  his  ears  sooth 
ed  by  the  flattery  of  a  polished  nation.  For  a  long 
time  he  had  been  content  to  dwell  in  obscurity  in 
Spain,  sacrificing  every  thing  but  his  country's  inter 
ests  to  his  manliness  and  directness  of  character.  He 
H  2 


78  ANECDOTE FRANKLIN,   ETC. 

had  steadily  declinec  an  interview  with  the  king  of 
the  latter  country,  because  he  could  not  be  received 
openly  as  an  accredited  minister.  In  short,  he  had 
too  long  patiently  submitted  to  mortifications  and  re 
tirement,  rather  than  compromise  the  character  of  his 
nation,  to  see  the  substance  at  which  he  aimed  so 
easily  converted  to  a  shadow.  Mr.  Jay  denounced 
the  policy  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  and  declared 
that  the  unqualified  independence  of  his  country  must 
be  a  sine  qua  non  in  any  treaty  which  bore  his  name. 
Mr.  Adams  soon  joined  the  negotiation,  and  took  the 
side  of  independence.  Franklin,  who  was  at  heart  a 
true  patriot,  suffered  the  film  to  be  drawn  from  his 
eyes,  and  perfect  union  soon  presided  in  their  coun 
cils.  But  England  had  not  been  unapprized  of  the 
disposition  of  America  to  receive  a  truce.  Her  com 
missioner,  Mr.  Oswald,  appeared  with  instructions  to 
go  no  further.  In  this  dilemma  a  step  is  ascribed  to 
Mr.  Jay,  that  I  believe  is  as  remarkable  for  its  bold 
ness  as  for  its  good  sense.  He  is  said  to  have  written, 
with  his  own  hand,  to  the  English  Secretary  of  State, 
pointing  out  the  bad  consequences  to  England  her 
self,  if  she  adhered  to  her  present  policy.  By  keeping 
the  truce  suspended  over  America,  she  forced  that 
country  to  lean  on  France  for  support ;  whereas,  by 
admitting  her,  at  once,  into  the  rank  of  nations,  Eng 
land  would  obtain  a  valuable  customer,  and  might 
also  secure  a  natural  friend.  Thus  instructed  in  a 
better  policy,  the  English  minister  saw  his  error,  and 
the  same  courier  who  conveyed  the  letter  of  Mr.  Jay, 
returned  with  instructions  to  Mr,  Oswald  to  acknow 
ledge  the  independence  of  the  United  States.  Find 
ing  themselves  embarrassed  by  the  evasions  of  Count 
de  Vergennes,  believing  they  were  betrayed,  in  the 
spirit  of  their  alliance  at  least,  and  knowing  that 
France  could  not  find  the  smallest  difficulty  in  settling 
her  own  affairs  without  their  agency,  the  American 
commissioners  proceeded  to  sign  a  treaty  of  peace 


OFFICES    HELD    BY    MR.   JAY,   ETC.  79 

in  the  very  teeth  of  their  instru  ,tions,  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  French  minister.  When  the  latter 
found  that  his  policy  had  not  succeeded,  he  wrote  a 
sharp  note  of  remonstrance,  which  Dr.  Franklin  laid 
before  his  brother  commissioners.  It  was  much  easier 
to  perform  a  great  act,  like  the  one  in  which  they  had 
been  engaged,  than  to  word  a  proper  reply  to  this 
communication.  There  was  but  one  ground  on 
which  their  apparent  want  of  faith  could  be  justified, 
and  to  give  that  to  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  might 
probably  be  much  more  true  than  polite.  After  a 
good  deal  of  hesitation,  they  discovered  that  the  letter 
bore  the  simple  superscription  of  Dr.  Franklin,  and 
the  colleagues  of  the  latter  imposed  on  him  the  duty 
of  answering  a  note,  which  they  gravely  insisted  was 
not  officially  addressed  to  the  commissioners.  How 
well  the  philosopher  acquitted  himself  of  this  delicate 
affair,  my  information  does  not  say;  but  though  a  vote 
of  censure  on  the  commissioners  was  proposed  in 
Congress,  their  conduct  was  thought,  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  so  very  justifiable,  that  it  was  never 
passed.  Now,  I  repeat,  for  all  this  I  cannot  name 
my  authority,  since  living  men  are  parties  to  the 
transaction,  but  I  will  again  say,  that  it  is  so  respect 
able,  that  I  believe  the  anecdote  to  be  substantially 
correct. 

On  his  return  from  Europe,  Mr.  Jay  for  some  time 
filled  the  office  of  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  He 
took  a  distinguished  part  in  forming  the  present  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States.  In  conjunction  with 
Hamilton  and  Madison,  he  wrote  the  celebrated 
essays  under  the  signature  of  the  Federalist,  which 
have  since  come  to  be  a  text-book  for  the  principles 
of  the  American  government.  He  was  then  made 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  having  been  edu 
cated  for  the  bar,  which  office  he  resigned,  in  order 
to  proceed  to  England  to  negotiate  the  treaty  of 
commerce.  He  was  afterwards  six  years  governor 


80          OFFICIAL    RANK    NO    CERTAIN    EVIDENCE. 

of  his  native  state  (New-York,)  after  which  he  re* 
tired  from  political  life  altogether,  refusing  the  office 
of  Chief  Justice  again,  which  WBS  offered  t.)  him  by 
his  old  coadjutor  Adams,  then  about  also  to  retire 
iVom  the  chair  of  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States. 

Since  the  latter  period,  near  five  and  twenty  years. 
Mr.  Jay  has  lived  on  the  hereditary  estate  where  1 
saw  him,  enjoying  the  profound,  and  I  might  also  say, 
idolatrous  respect  of  all  who  enter  his  private  circle. 
As  his  manner  of  living  may  serve  to  give  you  a  better 
idea  of  the  usages  of  this  country,  I  will  endeavour  to 
give  a  short  description  of  so  much  of  it,  as  may  be 
done  without  violating  that  respect  which  is  due  to 
the  hospitality  and  frankness  of  my  reception.  I  shall 
merely  premise,  I  have  already  discovered  that  official 
rank,  in  this  country,  furnishes  no  certain  clue  to  the 
rank  of  an  individual  in  ordinary  society,  nor  conse- 
sequently  to  the  style  in  which  he  may  choose  to 
regulate  his  establishment.  In  order  that  you  may 
understand  me,  however,  it  is  necessary  that  I  should 
go  a  little  into  detail. 

One  hears  a  great  deal  in  Europe  of  the  equality 
of  the  United  States.  Now,  if  you  will  make  a 
moderate  allowance  for  the  effects  which  are  pro 
duced  by  the  division  of  property  on  the  death  of 
its  possessor,  or  the  facility  with  which  estates  are 
acquired,  and  to  the  fact  that  no  legal  orders  exist  in 
the  community,  you  may,  with  a  certain  qualification, 
take  the  general  rules  which  govern  the  associations 
and  habits  of  all  other  countries,  as  applicable  to  this. 
In  order,  however,  to  measure  accurately  the  degree 
of  influence  the  circumstances  just  named  produce, 
probably  requires  a  greater  knowledge  of  America 
than  I  possess.  Though  it  is  quite  apparent  that 
those  conventional  castes  which  divide  the  whole 
civilized  world  into  classes,  are  to  be  found  here,  just 
as  they  are  in"  Europe,  they  appear  to  be  separated 


REASONS    WHY    IT    SHOULD    NOT.  81 

by  less  impassable  barriers.  The  features  of  society 
are  substantially  tbe  same,  though  less  strongly  mark 
ed.  You,  as  an  Englishman,  can  find  no  difficulty  in, 
understanding,  that  the  opinions  and  habits  of  all  the 
different  divisions  in  life  may  prevail  without  patents 
of  nobility.  They  are  the  unavoidable  consequences 
of  differences  in  fortune,  education  and  manners.  In 
no  particular,  that  I  can  discover,  does  the  situation 
of  an  American  gentleman  differ  from  that  of  an 
English  gentleman,  except  that  the  former  must  be 
content  to  enjoy  his  advantages  as  a  concession  of  the 
public  opinion,  and  not  as  a  right.  I  can  readily  be 
lieve  that  the  American,  whatever  might  be  his  name, 
fortune,  or  even  personal  endowments,  who  should 
arrogate  that  manner  of  superiority  over  his  less  for 
tunate  countrymen  that  the  aristocracy  of  your  coun 
try  so  often  assume  to  their  inferiors,  would  be  in 
great  danger  of  humiliation  ;  but  I  cannot  see  that  he 
is  in  any  sense  the  less  of  a  gentleman  for  the  re 
straint.  I  think  I  have  already  discovered  the  source 
of  a  very  general  error  on  the  subject  of  American 
society.  Short  as  has  been  my  residence  in  the  coun 
try,  I  have  met  with  many  individuals  of  manners 
and  characters  so  very  equivocal,  as  scarcely  to  know 
in  what  conventional  order  they  ought  to  be  placed. 
There  has  been  so  singular  a  compound  of  intelli 
gence,  kindness,  natural  politeness,  coarseness,  and 
even  vulgarity,  in  many  of  these  persons,  that  I  am 
often  utterly  baffled  in  the  attempt  to  give  them  a 
place  in  the  social  scale.  One  is  ashamed  to  admit 
that  men  who  at  every  instant  are  asserting  their  su 
periority  in  intellect  and  information,  can  belong  to 
an  inferior  condition  ;  and  yet  one  is  equally  reluc 
tant  to  allow  a  claim  to  perfect  equality,  on  the  part 
of  those  who  are  constantly  violating  the  rules  of 
conventional  courtesy.  That  the  forms  of  even  polite 
intercourse,  in  this  country,  are  different  in  very  many 
particulars  from  our  own,  is  quite  evident,  but  it  is 


82    GOVERNMENT  AND  SOCIE1  Y  UNCONNECTED 

far  less  apparent  that  Europe  enjoys  any  very  de 
cided  advantage  on  this  account.  If  I  should  venture 
to  give  an  opinion, -thus  early,  on  a  question  that  in 
its  nature  is  so  very  delicate,  I  should  say,  that  we 
give  to  hundreds  of  Americans  a  place  in  their  own 
society,  which,  in  fact,  they  cannot  claim,  merely  be 
cause  we  discover  in  them  certain  qualifications  that 
few  or  none  possess  in  Europe,  who  are  not  actually 
members  of  her  social  elite.  But  this  is  anticipating 
a  subject  on  v,  hich  I  may  be  much  better  prepared 
to  write  a  twelvemonth  hence. 

I  have  told  you  that  official  rank  in  America  has 
very  little  connexion  with  rank  in  ordinary  society. 
This  assertion,  however,  is  liable  to  some  little  excep 
tion.  There  are  certain  political  stations  of  so  much 
dignity,  as  in  a  great  measure  to  entail  on  their  pos 
sessors,  and  even  on  their  families,  the  indefinable 
privileges  of  caste,  here  as  elsewhere,  though  from 
what  I  can  learn  this  is  far  from  being  invariably  the 
case.  Thus,  while  the  office  of  President  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  Governor  of  a  State,  will,  in  theii 
very  nature,  open  the  doors  of  most  houses  to  their 
incumbents,  a  man  may  be  a  member  of  Congress,  or 
even  a  Senator,  arid  continue  to  fill  his  original  station 
in  ordinary  life.  This,  also,  you,  as  an  Englishman, 
ought  to  understand,  nor  will  it  be  much  longer  un  • 
intelligible  in  all  those  other  countries  of  Europe, 
where  representative  governments  are  opening  the 
avenues  of  political  power  to  all  men.  Indeed,  in 
France,  even  under  the  old  regime,  government  and 
society  were  perfectly  distinct.  Now,  just  as  America 
is  more  democratic  in  her  institutions,  just  so  much 
the  more  is  this  blending  of  conditions  discernible  in 
her  distribution  of  political  favours.  Your  country 
men  are  very  apt  to  make  themselves  merry  with  the 
colonels  and  majors  that  are  inn-keepers  in  America, 
but  really  it  appears  lo  me  that  these  people  have 
much  the  best  right  to  laugh  in  the  matter,  since  they 


AMERICAN  COLONELS  AND  CITY  WARRIORS.        83 

can  find  individuals  fit  to  fill  such  stations,  in  a  condi 
tion  of  life,  that,  in  common,  is  occupied  by  men 
qualified  to  do  little  or  nothing  else  than  discharge 
the  duties  of  their  ordinary  calling.  But  you  have 
had  your  train-bands,  with  their  pastry-cook,  and 
fishmonger  colonels,  as  well  as  the  Americans.  I 
know  of  but  two  points,  then,  in  which  you  differ  in 
this  particular  from  the  very  people  whom  you  affect 
to  ridicule.  I  have  not  heard  of  any  of  your  city 
warriors,  who  can  show  their  scars,  or  who  have  ever 
encountered  a  danger,  more  formidable  than  effecting 
a  defile  in  face  of  a  pump,  without  throwing  their 
phalanxes  into  confusion  ;  whereas,  I  have  seen  more 
than  one  American  veteran  perform  the  offices  of  a 
host,  who  had  faced  with  credit  the  best  of  your 
battalions,  and  who  makes  a  matter  of  honest  boast 
ing  that  he  has  as  often  seen  the  back  as  the  face  of 
his  enemies,  they  too,  having  been  both  English  and 
French  grenadiers.  This  is  one,  and  no  trifling  point 
of  distinction  between  the  two  classes.  The  other  is, 
that  your  train-bands  are  rarely  found  beyond  the  in 
fluence  of  the  household  troops,  or  such  other  mer 
cenaries  as  may  serve  to  set  them  a  proper  example 
of  loyalty,  while  the  Americans,  unhesitatingly,  put 
arms  into  the  hands  of  all  their  people  who  are  of  an 
age  to  carry  them.  I  believe  the  latter,  after  all,  is 
the  true  reason  why  colonels  and  majors  so  much 
abound  in  this  country. 

While  crossing  the  state  of  Massachusetts  the  last 
time,  I  passed  a  night  in  the  house  of  one  of  these 
military  Bonifaces.  He  was  precisely  the  sort  of 
man  Cadwallader  had  described  ;  kind,  independent, 
unassuming  in  fact,  but  unyielding  in  appearance  ;  a 
colonel  in  the  militia,  a  member  of  the  State  legisla 
ture,  and,  in  short,  one  who  at  need  would  give 
you  his  own  blanket  and  think  no  more  of  it,  but  who 
would  refuse  your  money  unless  it  were  offered  with 
civility,  and  as  a  just  return  for  what  he  had  bestowed. 


84  THE  UTILITY  OF  STANDING  ARMIES. 

I  passed  a  half  hour  conversing  with  the  old  man 
who  had  seen  a  good  deal  of  service  during  the  wars 
of  '56  and  '76.  We  spoke  of  the  different  military 
systems  pursued  by  England  and  America,  and  he 
not  only  seemed  willing  to  do  justice  to  the  troops  of 
the  former,  but  he  readily  admitted  that  men  who 
did  nothing  but  ;  train,'  as  he  termed  it,  ought  to  be 
better  soldiers  than  militia  who  entered  the  ranks 
but  once  or  twice  a  year.  Encouraged  by  this  con 
cession,  I  ventured  to  suggest  it  was  possible  that  his 
nation  was  wrong  in  her  policy,  and  that  she  might 
do  better  to  imitate  the  example  of  other  countries  in 
her  military  policy  at  least.  His  answer  was  cer 
tainly  characteristic,  and  I  thought  it  not  without 
some  practical  point.  *'  Each  people  to  their  wants,* 
he  said.  "  In  Europe  you  keep  large  standing  armies 
because  you  can't  hold  together  without  them,  and  I 
conclude  you  pay  for  it.  America  has  managed  so 
far  to  do  her  own  fighting,  nor  do  I  see  that  she  has 
much  need  of  doing  that  of  any  other  people.  As  to 
the  quality  of  the  troops,  we  often  handled  the  French 
roughly ;  we  drove  the  English  out  of  the  Bay  State 
in  '76,  and  we  have  contrived  to  keep  them  out  ever 
since :  so  far  as  I  can  see,  that  is  all  we  want  of  a: 
soldier,  whether  he  be  dressed  in  scarlet,  or  a  coat 
of  brown  homespun.  As  to  keeping  order  at  home, 
we  can  still  do  that  without  using  our  muskets,  thank 
God."  Now,  whether  a  nation  that  has  managed  to 
keep  foreign  invaders  from  her  shores,  and  to  preserve 
the  most  perfect  order  within  her  borders,  without 
the  agency  of  any  better  colonels,  than  such  as  some 
times  act  as  inn-keepers,  is  entitled  to  the  respect,  or 
to  the  derision  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  is  a  question 
I  leave  to  your  philosophy.  At  all  events,  communi 
ties  which  husband  their  resources,  enjoy  the  com 
fortable  assurance  of  having  them  at  command,  when 
their  possession  may  become  a  matter  of  the  kst  im 
portance, 


THE    DWELLING    OF    MR.  JAY.  85 

But  all  this  is  leading  me  from  the  subject.  Al 
though  a  description  of  the  establishment  of  Mr.  Jay 
should  not  mislead  you  into  an  impression  that  all 
those  who  have  enjoyed  public  favour,  in  this  coun 
try,  live  in  a  similar  manner,  it  is  certainly  more  true 
as  to  those  who  have  arrived  to  the  high  dignities  he 
once  possessed.  In  point  of  size  and  convenience 
the  dwelling  of  this  distinguished  American  is  about 
on  a  level  with  a  third-rate  English  country  house,  or 
a  second-rate  French  chateau.  It  has  most  of  the 
comforts  of  the  former,  with  some  luxuries  that  are 
not  easy  to  obtain  in  your  island,  and  it  is  conse 
quently  both  inferior  and  superior  to  the  latter,  in 
very  many  particulars.  There  is  a  mixture  of  use 
and  appearance  in  the  disposition  of  the  grounds, 
that  I  am  inclined  to  think  very  common  about  the 
residences  of  gentlemen  of  this  country.  The  farm 
buildings,  &c.,  though  a  little  removed,  were  in  plain 
view,  as  if  their  proprietor,  while  he  was  willing  to 
escape  from  the  inconveniences  of  a  closer  proximity, 
found  a  pleasure  in  keeping  them  at  all  times  under 
his  immediate  eye.  The  house  itself  was  partly  of 
stone,  and  partly  of  wood,  it  having  been  built  at 
different  periods ;  but,  as  is  usual  here,  with  most  of 
the  better  sort  of  dwellings,  it  was  painted,  and 
having  a  comfortable  and  spacious  piazza  along  its 
facade^  another  common  practice  in  this  climate,  it 
is  not  without  some  pretension  externally;  still  its 
exterior,  as  well  as  its  internal  character,  is  that  of 
respectable  comfort,  rather  than  of  elegance,  or 
show.  The  interior  arrangements  of  this,  no  less 
than  of  most  of  the  houses  I  have  entered  here,  are 
decidedly  of  an  English  character.  The  furniture 
is  commonly  of  mahogany,  and  carpets  almost  uni 
versally  prevail,  summer  and  winter.  There  is  a 
great  air  of  abundance  in  the  houses  of  the  Ameri 
cans  generally,  and  in  those  of  the  wealthy,  it  is  min 
gled  with  something  that  we  are  apt  to  consider  lux- 


86  ARMORIAL    BEARINGS,  LIVERIES,  ETC. 

urious.  I  might  have  counted  ten  or  twelve  domestics 
about  the  establishment  of  Mr.  Jay,  all  quiet,  orderly, 
and  respectful.  They  were  both  white  and  black. 
You  probably  know  that  the  latter  are  all  free  here, 
slavery  having  been  virtually  abolished  in  New- 
York.*  The  servants  wore  no  liveries,  nor  did  1 
see  many  that  did  out  of  the  city  of  New-York 
Though  sometimes  given,  even  there,  they  are  fai 
from  frequent.  They  are  always  exceedingly  plain, 
rarely  amounting  to  more  than  a  round  hat  with  a 
gold  or  a  silver  band,  and  a  coat,  with  cuffs  and  col 
lars  faced  with  a  different  cloth.  Armorial  bearings 
on  carriages  are  much  more  frequent,  though  Cad- 
wallader  tells  me  it  is  getting  to  be  more  genteel  to 
do  without  even  them.  He  says  the  most  ancient 
and  honourable  families,  those  whose  descent  is  uni 
versally  known,  are  the  first  to  neglect  their  use.  I 
saw  the  carriages  of  Mr.  Jay,  but  their  pannels  were 
without  any  blazonry.  I  remarked,  however,  ancient 
plate  in  the  house  that  bore  those  European  marks 
of  an  honourable  name,  and  which  I  did  not  hesitate 
to  refer  to  the  period  of  the  colonial  government, 
Mr.  Jay  himself  is  of  French  descent,  his  ancestor 
having  been  a  refugee  from  the  religious  persecution 
that  succeeded  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes. 
There  are  many  families  of  similar  descent  in  the 
United  States,  and  among  them  are  some  of  the  first 
names  of  the  country.  I  passed  a  little  town  in  the 
county  of  West-Chester,  that  was  said  to  have  been 
originally  settled  by  emigrants  from  the  persecuted 
city  of  Rochelle.  It  bears  the  name  of  New  Ro- 
chelle,  and  to  this  hour,  though  much  blended  by 
intermarriages  with  those  of  English  origin,  the  peo 
ple  retain  something  of  the  peculiar  look  of  their 
French  ancestry.  I  saw  on  the  signs,  the  names  of 


*  It  finally  expired  by  law,  July  4th,  1827. 


THE  HUGUENOTS.  87 

Guion,  Renaud,  Bonnet,  Florence,  Flandeiau,  Cou- 
tant,  &c.  &c.,  all  of  whid  are  clearly  French,  though 
the  sound  is  commonly  so  perverted,  that  it  may  be 
said  properly  to  belong  to  no  language.  There  are 
also  one  or  two  others  of  these  settlements  in  this 
state,  and  many  more  in  different  parts  of  the  Union, 
but  their  peculiar  national  customs  have  long  since 
been  swallowed  in  the  overwhelming  influence  of 
the  English.  The  language  is  entirely  lost  among 
these  children  of  France.  I  had,  however,  a  trifling 
evidence  of  the  length  of  time  ancient  usages  will 
linger  in  our  habits,  even  under  the  most  unfavour 
able  circumstances.  My  driver  encountered,  near 
New  Rochelle,  an  old  acquaintance,  standing  before 
the  door  of  his  own  habitation.  The  horses  either 
needed  breath  to  mount  a  hill,  or  the  worthy  disciple 
of  Phaeton  chose  to  assume  it.  "  Why  do  you  leave 
the  stumps  of  those  dead  apple-trees  in  your  orch 
ard  ?"  demanded  the  coachman,  who  very  soon  be 
gan  to  throw  a  critical  eye  over  the  husbandry  of  his 
acquaintance.  "  Oh  !  I  gather  all  my  morelles  around 
their  roots.  Without  the  mushrooms  in  the  fall,*  and 
the  morelles  in  the  spring,  I  should  be  as  badly  found 
as  one  of  my  oxen  without  salt."  "  Now,  that  is  for 
his  French  blood,"  said  my  driver  to  Fritz,  while 
mounting  the  hill;  "  for  my  part,  I  count  a  man  a  fool 
who  will  run  the  risk  of  being  poisoned  in  order  to 
tickle  his  palate  with  a  mushroom."  I  have  been  told 
that  these  little  peculiarities  of  their  ancient  French 
habits  were  all  that  was  national  which  remained  to 
the  descendants  of  the  Huguenots.  Their  religion 
had  even  undergone  a  change;  the  original  French 
Protestants  being  Calvinists,  whereas  their  descend 
ants  have  almost  all  become  united  to  what  is  here 
called  the  Episcopalian,  or  the  Church  of  England. 

*  The  Americans  commonly  call  the  autumn  the  '  fall ;'  from 
toe  falling  of  the  leaf. 


88         SIMPLE  AND  DIGNIFIED  HABITS  OF  MR.  JAY. 

I  scarcely  remember  to  have  mingled  with  anj 
family,  where  there  was  a  more  happy  union  of  quiet 
decorum,  and  high  courtesy,  than  I  met  beneath  the 
roof  of  Mr.  Jay.  The  venerable  statesman  himself  is 
distinguished,  as  much  now,  for  his  dignified  simplic 
ity,  as  he  was,  formerly,  for  his  political  sagacity, 
integrity,  and  firmness.  By  one  class  of  his  country 
men  he  is  never  spoken  of  without  the  profoundest 
respect.  It  is  evident  that  there  are  some  who  have 
been  accustomed  to  oppose  him,  though  it  is  not  diffi 
cult  to  see  that  they  begin  to  wonder  why.  During 
my  short  stay  beneath  this  hospitable  roof,  several  of 
the  yeomanry  came  to  make  visits  of  respect,  or  of 
business,  to  their  distinguished  neighbour.  Their  re 
ception  was  frank  and  cordial,  each  man  receiving 
the  hand  of  the  "  Governor,"  as  he  is  called,  though 
it  was  quite  evident  that  dll  approached  him  with  the 
reverence  a  great  man  only  can  inspire.  For  my 
own  part,  I  confess,  I  thought  it  a  beautiful  sight  to 
see  one  who  had  mingled  in  the  councils  of  nations, 
who  had  instructed  a  foreign  minister  in  his  own 
policy,  and  who  had  borne  himself  with  high  honour 
'  and  lasting  credit  in  the  courts  of  mighty  sovereigns, 
soothing  the  evening  of  his  days  by  these  little  acts 
of  bland  courtesy,  which,  while  they  elevated  others, 
in  no  respect  subtracted  from  his  own  glory.  His  age 
and  infirmities  prevented  as  much  intercourse  as  I 
could  have  wished  with  such  a  man,  but  the  little  he 
did  communicate  on  the  scenes  in  which  he  had  been 
an  actor,  was  uttered  with  so  much  clearness,  sim 
plicity,  modesty,  and  discretion,  that  one  was  left  to 
regret  that  he  could  not  hear  more. 

There  is  a  very  general  opinion  in  America,  thai 
Mr.  Jay  has  been  much  occupied,  in  later  life,  in 
writing  on  the  prophecies.  Of  course  this  is  a  sub 
ject  on  which  I  know  nothing,  but  something  occurred 
in  the  course  of  conversation  which  strongly  inclines 
me  to  hazard  a  conjecture  that  they  are  not  true.  We 


NOTIONS  OF  THE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  MR.  JAY.         89 

were  speaking  of  some  recent  English  works  on  the 
Apocalypse,  when  he  expressed,  in  general  terms,  his 
sense  of  the  fruitlessness  of  any  inquiry,  at  the  present 
hour,  into  their  hidden  meaning.  I  am  rather  inclined 
to  think,  that  as  this  eminent  man  has  endeavoured 
so  to  model  his  life,  that  he  may  be  prepared  for  any 
and  every  developement  of  the  mighty  mystery,  some 
curious,  but  incompetent  observers  of  his  habits  have 
mistaken  his  motive,  attributing  that  to  a  love  of  the 
ory,  which  might,  with  more  justice,  be  ascribed  to 
the  humbler  and  safer  cause  of  practice.  And  here 
I  must  bid  adieu  to  this  estimable  statesman ;  but 
before  I  take  leave  of  you,  I  will  mention  a  queer 
enough  instance  of  the  vagaries  of  the  human  mind, 
which  has  recently  come  under  my  observation,  and 
which  is  oddly  enough  recalled  by  the  connexion  be 
tween  Mr.  Jay  and  his  fancied  avocations  in  retire 
ment.  It  furnishes  another  proof  of  the  precarious 
quality  of  all  conjecture. 

Every  body  has  heard  of  Zerah  Colburne,  one  of 
those  inexplicable  prodigies,  whose  faculties  enable 
them  to  assume  a  command  over  the  powers  of  num 
bers  that  is,  probably,  quite  as  much  of  a  mystery  to 
themselves,  as  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  High  expect 
ations  were  raised  of  the  effects  which  education 
might  produce  on  the  capacity  of  this  boy.  He  went 
to  England  ;  exhibited  ;  calculated ;  astonished  every 
body ;  was  patronized ;  sent  to  school ;  became  a  man ; 
returned  to  his  native  country  lately,  and  brought 
back  with  him  the  literary  offering  of  a  tragedy !  I 
have  seen  the  manuscript,  and  mast  say  that  I  think, 
for  once  at  least,  "  he  has  missed  a  figure." — Adieu. 
12 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 


New-York, 

THE  six  North-Eastern  States  of  this  great  union 
compose  what  is  called  New-England.*  The  appel 
lation  is  one  of  convention,  and  is  unknown  to  the  laws. 
It  is  a  name  given  by  a  King  of  England,  who  ap 
peared  willing  to  conciliate  that  portion  of  his  sub 
jects,  who  had  deserted  their  homes  in  quest  of  liberty 
of  conscience,  by  a  high-sounding  title.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  colonies  of  the  Dutch  and  Swedes, 
at  that  time,  separated  the  northern  possessions  of  the 
English  from  those  they  held  in  Virginia.  It  is  most 
probably  owing  to  the  latter  circumstance  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  New-England  provinces  so  long 
retained  their  distinctive  character,  which  was  scarce 
ly  less  at  variance  with  that  of  the  slave-holding  plant 
ers  of  the  south,  than  with  that  of  their  more  imme 
diate  neighbours,  the  Dutch.  The  pacific  colonists 
of  Penn  brought  with  them  but  little  to  soften  the 
lines  of  distinction,  and  after  New- York  became  sub 
ject  to  the  Crown  of  Britain,  it  was  a  melange  of 
Dutch  quietude  and  English  aristocracy.  It  was  not 
until  the  Revolution  had  broken  down  the  barriers  of 
provincial  prejudices,  and  cleared  the  way  for  the 
unrestrained  exercise  of  the  true  national  enterprise, 
that  these  territorial  obstacles  were  entirely  removed, 
and  a  thorough  amalgamation  of  the  people  com 
menced.  A  few  observations  on  the  effect  of  this 
amalgamation,  and  the  influence  it  has  had  on  the  char- 


*  Maine,   Massachusetts,  New-Hampshire,  Vermont,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Connecticut. 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    NEW-ENGLAND.  91 

acter  of  the  nation,  may  not  be  thrown  away  here. 
The  little  I  shall  say  is  written  under  the  inspection 
of  Cadwallader,  confirmed,  if  not  improved,  by  my 
own  observation. 

The  people  of  New-England  are,  even  to  this  hour, 
distinguished  among  their  own  active  and  quick-witted 
countrymen,  for  their  enterprise,  frugality,  order,  and 
intelligence.  The  three  latter  qualities,  taken  in  con 
junction,  I  believe  they  have  a  right  to  claim  to  a  de 
gree  that  is  elsewhere  unequalled.  The  Scot  and  the 
Swiss,  the  Dane  and  the  Swede,  the  German,  the 
Belgian,  or  even  the  Frenchman,  may  be  often  as 
frugal,  but  there  is  always  something  of  compulsion 
in  European  frugality.  The  inhabitant  of  New-Eng 
land  seems  thrifty  on  principle ;  since  he  neglects  no 
duty,  forgets  no  decency,  nor  overlooks  any  of  the 
higher  obligations  in  order  to  save  his  money.  Fie  is 
eminently  economical  and  provident  in  the  midst  of 
abundance.  A  sentiment  of  deep  morality  seems  to 
influence  his  savings,  which  he  hoards,  in  order  that 
the  superfluity  of  his  wealth  may  be  serviceable,  as 
wealth  should  be,  in  securing  his  own  private  re 
spectability,  and  in  advancing  the  interests  of  the 
whole.  No  doubt,  in  a  great  community,  where 
economy  is  rigidly  practised  as  a  virtue,  some  mistake 
its  object,  and  pervert  a  quality,  which  is  so  eminently 
adapted  to  advance  the  general  good,  to  the  purposes 
of  individual  rapacity.  But  it  is  impossible  to  jour 
ney  through  New-England,  and  witness  its  air  of 
abundance,  its  decency,  the  absence  of  want,  the  ele 
vation  of  character,  which  is  imparted  to  the  meanest 
of  its  people,  without  respecting  the  sources  whence 
they  flow.  A  prudent  and  discreet  economy  is,  in 
itself,  an  evidence  of  a  reflecting  and  instructed  being, 
as  order  is  the  necessary  attendant  of  abundance  and 
thought.  You  may  form  some  estimate  of  the  degree 
of  intelligence  which  is  diffused  throughout  the  com 
munity  in  New-England,  by  the  facts  contained  in  a 


92  SCHOOLS    IN    NEW-ENGLAND. 

report  I  lately  read  concerning  the  progress  of  gen 
eral  instruction  in  Massachusetts.  That  State  con 
tains  nearly  600,000  souls,  all  of  whom  (of  proper 
age,)  with  the  exception  of  about  400,  could  read  and 
write.  It  is  probable  that  the  latter  number  was 
composed  chiefly  of  foreigners,  blacks  from  other 
States,  and  those  who  laboured  under  natural  disa 
bilities.  But  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  are  far 
from  being  the  limits  of  the  ordinary  instruction  of 
the  lower  American  schools.  A  vast  deal  of  useful 
and  creditable  knowledge,  moral  and  useful,  is  also 
obtained  in  learning  to  read.  I  have  known  Cad- 
wallader  to  say  repeatedly,  that  in  referring  to  fa 
miliar  history  and  geography,  he  invariably  passes  by 
all  his  later  acquisitions  in  the  academies  and  uni 
versity,  to  draw  upon  the  stores  he  obtained  during 
his  infancy  in  one  of  the  common  schools  of  the  coun 
try.  Perhaps,  in  this  particular,  he  differs  but  little 
from  most  educated  men  every  where ;  but  it  is  an 
important  fact  to  remember  that  the  children  of  his 
father's  tradesmen,  and  indeed  of  every  other  man  in 
the  place,  enjoyed  precisely  the  same  means  of  ob 
taining  this  species  of  information,  as  the  son  of  the 
affluent  landlord.  He  also  pointed  out  another  im 
portant  fact,  as  distinguishing  the  quality  of  the  know 
ledge  acquired  in  the  schools  of  America  from  that 
which  is  obtained  in  a  similar  manner,  in  most,  if  not 
all,  of  Europe.  There  is  no  lethargy  of  ideas  in  this 
country.  What  is  known  to  one  (under  the  usual 
limits  of  learning)  soon  becomes  the  property  of  all. 
This  is  strictly  true,  as  respects  all  the  minor  acqui 
sitions  of  the  school.  It  is  also  true  as  respects  every 
sudden  and  important  political  event,  in  any  quarter 
of  the  world.  The  former  species  of  information  is 
obtained  through  new  and  improved  editions  of  their 
geographies,  histories,  and  grammars,  and  the  latter 
through  the  powerful  agency  of  the  public  press.  A 
new  division  of  the  German  empire,  for  instance. 


SCHOOLS QUALITY    OF    INSTRUCTION.  93 

would  be  change  enough  to  circulate  a  new  geography 
through  all  the  schools  of  America.  Improved  systems 
of  arithmetic  are  as  numerous  as  the  leaves  on  the 
trees,  nor  is  there  any  scarcity  of  annals  to  record  the 
events  of  the  day.  My  companion  pointed  out  the 
difference  between  his  own  country  and  France  for 
instance,  in  this  particular.  He  has  three  or  four 
young  female  relatives  at  school  in  the  latter  country. 
Curiosity  had  induced  him  to  bring  away  several  of 
the  class-books  that  had  been  put  into  their  hands,  in 
conformity  to  the  system  which  governs  these  matters 
there.  In  the  history  of  France  itself,  the  Revolution 
is  scarcely  mentioned !  The  reign  of  Napoleo*n  is 
passed  over  in  silence,  and  the  events  of  1814  and 
1815  consigned  to  an  oblivion,  which  does  not  con 
ceal  the  siege  of  Troy.  One  can  understand  the 
motives  of  this  doubtful  policy;  but  Cadwallader 
pointed  out  defects  in  the  geographies,  which  can  only 
be  accounted  for  on  the  grounds  of  utter  indifference 
One  example  shall  suffice  for  numberless  similar  in 
stances  of  gross  and  culpable  neglect,  since  it  could 
not  be  ignorance,  in  a  country  where  the  science  of 
geography  is  certainly  as  well  understood  as  in  any 
other  part  of  the  earth.  With  an  excusable  sensi 
tiveness,  he  showed  me,  in  a  recent  edition  of  an  au 
thorized  geography,  the  account  of  his  own  confede 
ration.  It  is  said  to  be  composed  of  eighteen  States, 
though  twenty-one  are  actually  named,  and  twenty- 
four^  in  -truth,  existed  !  Even  the  palpable  contradic 
tion  seems  to  have  escaped  the  proof-readers  of  the 
work.  Now  this  book,  excessively  meagre  in  itself, 
is  put  into  the  hands  of  the  future  mothers  of  France. 
Their  own  kingdom  is  certainly  dealt  with  a  little 
more  liberally ;  but,  though  it  is  perhaps  the  highest 
effort  of  human  knowledge,  to  know  one's  self,  in 
order  to  a  right  understanding  of  our  own  character, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  a  pretty  intimate 
acquaintance  with  those  of  other  people.  I  speak 


94  RELUCTANCE  OF  EUROPE 

understandingly,  when  I  tell  you,  that  the  geographies 
and  modern  histories  which  are  read  by  the  com 
monest  American  children,  are  vastly  more  minute 
and  accurate  than  those  read  in  most  of  the  fashion 
able  pensions  of  Paris. 

The  effect  of  this  diffusion  of  common  instruction 
is  pre-eminently  apparent  throughout  New-England, 
in  the  self-respect,  decency,  order,  and  individuality 
of  its  inhabitants.  I  say  individuality,  because,  by- 
giving  ideas  to  a  man,  you  impart  the'principles  of  a 
new  existence,  which  suoply  additional  motives  of 
concern  to  his  respectabi'ity  and  well-being.  You 
are  not  to  suppose  that  men  become  selfish  by  arriv- 
,  ing  nearer  to  a  right  understanding  of  their  own  na 
tures  and  true  interests,  since  all  experience  proves 
that  we  become  humane  and  charitable  precisely  as 
we  become  conscious  of  our  own  defects,  and  obtain 
a  knowledge  of  the  means  necessary  to  repair  them. 
A  remarkable  example  of  this  truth  is  to  be  found  in 
Ne.w-England  itself.  Beyond  a  doubt,  nowhere  is  to 
be  found  a  population  so  well  instructed,  in  element 
ary  knowledge,  as  the  people  of  these  six  States.  It 
is  equally  true,  that  I  have  nowhere  witnessed  such  an 
universality  of  that  self-respect  which  preserves  men 
from  moral  degradation.  I  very  well  know  that  in 
Europe,  while  we  lend  a  faint  attention  to  these 
statements  concerning  American  order  and  prosper 
ity,  we  are  fond  of  seeking  causes  which  shall  refer 
their  origin  to  circumstances  peculiar  to  her  geo 
graphical  situation,  and  which  soothe  our  self-love, 
by  enabling  us  to  predict  their  downfall,  when  the 
existence  of  European  pressure  shall  reduce  the 
American  to  the  level  of  our  own  necessities.  I 
confess,  I  entered  the  country  with  very  similar  im 
pressions  myself;  but  nearer  observation  has  dis 
turbed  a  theory  which  is  generally  adopted,  because 
it  is  both  consolatory  and  simple.  We  are  apt  to  say 
that  the  ability  of  the  Americans  to  maintain  order  at 


TO  BELIEVE  IN  AMERICAN  ORDER.  95 

so  little  cost  of  money  and  personal  freedom,  is  de 
rived  from  the  thinness  of  population  and  the  absence 
of  want :  but  the  American  will  tell  you  it  proceeds 
from  the  high  civilization  of  his  country,  which  gives 
to  every  member  of  the  community  a  certain  interest 
in  its  quiet  and  character.  I  confess,  I  was  a  little 
startled  to  hear  a  people  who  scarcely  possess  a  work 
of  art  that  attains  to  mediocrity, — among  whom  most 
of  the  sciences  are  comparatively  in  their  infancy, — 
who  rarely  push  learning  beyond,  its  practical  and 
most  useful  points,  and  who  deal  far  less  in  the  graces 
than  in  the  more  simple  forms  of  manners,  speak  of 
their  pre-eminent  civilization  with  so  evident  a  com 
placency.  But  there  is  a  simple  dignity  in  moral 
truths,  that  dims  the  lustre  of  all  the  meretricious  gloss 
which  art  and  elegance  can  confer  on  life.  I  fear  that 
it  is  very  possible  to  live  in  a  gilded  palace — to  feast 
the  eyes  on  the  beau  ideal  of  form  and  proportions, — 
to  he  an  adept  in  the  polished  deceptions  of  conven 
tional  intercourse, — to  smile  when  others  smile,  and 
weep  when  others  weep, — to  patronize  and  to  court, 
— to  cringe  and  to  domineer,  in  short,  to  reach  the 
nt  p*us  ultra  of  eastern  refinement,  and  still  to  have 
a  strong  flavour  of  barbarity  about  one  after  all.  There 
can  be  no  true  humanity,  which  is  the  essence  of  all 
civilization,  until  man  comes  to  treat  and  consider  man 
as  his  fellow.  That  society  can  never  exist,  or,  at  least, 
that  it  could  never  advance,  under  a  too  fastidiously 
strict  interpretation  of  this  duty,  needs  no  proof,  since 
all  incentive  to  exertion  would  be  deadened  in  a  con 
dition  where  each  member  of  the  community  had  an 
equal  right  to  participate  in  the  general  abundance. 
The  great  desideratum  of  the  social  compact  would 
then  seem  to  be,  to  produce  such  a  state  of  things  as 
shall  call  the  most  individual  enterprise  into  action, 
while  it  should  secure  a  proper  consideration  for  the 
interests  of  the  whole  ; — to  avail  of  the  talents  of  the 
gifted  few,  while  the  long  train  of  humbler  beings 


96  HABITS  AND  MANNERS  OF  NEW-ENGLAND. 

shall  have  scope  and  leisure  also  for  the  privileges  of 
their  mortality  :  in  short,  to  profit  by  the  suggestions 
of  policy,  without  forgetting  the  eternal  obligations 
of  humanity.  If  a  union  of  the  utmost  scope  to  indi 
vidual  enterprise  with  the  most  sacred  regard  to  the 
rights  and  feelings  of  the  less  fortunate  of  our  species, 
be  any  evidence  of  an  approximation  to  this  desired 
condition  of  society,  I  think  the  inhabitant  of  New- 
England  has  a  better  right  to  claim  an  elevated  state 
of  being  than  any  other  people  I  have  ever  visited. 
The  activity  of  personal  efforts  is  every  where  visible 
on  the  face  of  the  land,  in  their  comforts,  abundance, 
improvements,  and  progressive  wealth,  while  the 
effect  of  a  humanity  that  approaches  almost  to  refine 
ment,  was  felt  at  every  house  I  entered.  Let  me  not 
be  misunderstood  :  I  can  readily  conceive  that  an 
European  gentleman,  who  had  not  been,  like  myself, 
put  on  his  guard,  would  have  found  numberless 
grounds  of  complaint,  because  he  was  not  treated  as 
belonging  to  a  superior  class  of  beings  by  those  with 
whom  he  was  compelled  to  hold  communication. 
Servility  forms  no  part  of  the  civilization  of  New- 
England,  though  civility  be  its  essence.  I  can  say 
with  truth,  that  after  traversing  the  country  for  near* 
a  thousand  miles,  in  no  instance  did  I  hear  or  witness 
a  rude  act :  not  the  slightest  imposition  was  practised, 
or  attempted,  on  my  purse ;  all  my  inquiries  were 
heard  with  patience,  and  answered  with  extraordi 
nary  intelligence  :  not  a  farthing  was  asked  for  divers 
extra  services  that  were  performed  in  my  behalf;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  money  offered  in  the  way  of  douceurs 
was  repeatedly  declined,  and  that  too  with  perfect 
modesty,  as  if  it  were  unusual  to  receive  rewards  for 
trifles.  My  comforts  and  tastes,  too,  were  uniformly 
consulted  ;  and,  although  1  often  travelled  in  a  portion 
of  the  country  that  was  but  little  frequented,  at  every 
inn  I  met  with  neatness,  abundance,  and  a  manner  in 
which  a  desire  to  oblige  me  was  blended  with  a 


DIFFUSIVE   INTELLIGENCE.  97 

singular  respect  for  themselves.  Nor  was  this  rare 
combination  of  advantages  at  all  the  effect  of  that 
simplicity  which  is  the  attendant  of  a  half-civilized 
condition;  on  the  contrary,  I  found  an  intelligence 
that  surprised  me  at  every  turn,  and  which,  in  itself, 
gave  the  true  character  to  the  humanity  of  which  I 
was  the  subject.  I  repeatedly  found  copies  of  your 
standard  English  authors,  in  retired  dwellings  where 
one  would  not  expect  to  meet  any  production  of  a 
cast  higher  than  an  almanac,  or  a  horn-book  ;  nor 
were  they  read  with  that  acquiescent  criticism  which 
gives  a  fashion  to  taste,  and  which  makes  a  joke  of 
Moliere  better  than  a  joke  of  any  other  man.  Young 
women  (with  whom  my  situation,  no  less  than  my 
tastes,  oftenest  brought  me  into  literary  discussions; 
frequently  surprised  me  with  the  extent  of  their  ac- 
qaintance  with,  and  the  soundness  of  their  opinions 
concerning  the  merits  and  morality  of  Pope  and  Ad- 
dison,  of  Young  and  Tillotson,  and  even  of  Milton  and 
Shakspeare.  This  may  sound  to  you  ridiculous,  and 
certainly,  if  taken  without  a  saving  clause  for  the  other 
acquirements  of  rny  female  critics,  it  is  liable  to  some 
exception  ;  but  I  repeat  I  have  often  known  professed 
blues  acquit  themselves  with  less  credit  than  did 
several  of  my  passing  acquaintances  at  the  tea-tables 
of  different  New-England  inns.  I  can,  however, 
readily  conceive  that  a  traveller  might  pass  weeks  in 
this  very  portion  of  the  country,  and  remain  pro 
foundly  ignorant  of  all  these  things.  In  order  to  ac 
quire  information,  one  must  possess  the  disposition  to 
learn.  I  sought  out  these  traits  of  national  character, 
and  I  flatter  myself  that  by  the  aid  of  good  disposi 
tions,  and  a  certain  something  that  distinguishes  all 
of  our  fraternity  in  the  presence  of  the  softer  sex,  a 
commendable  progress,  in  reference  to  the  time  and 
opportunity,  was  always  made  in  their  kind  estima 
tion.  The  great  roads,  as  I  have  said,  and  as  you 
well  know,  are  rarely  favourable  in  anv  country  to  an 
K 


98  OMISSION  OF  TRAVELLERS. 

accurate  acquaintance  with  the  character  of  its  in 
habitants.  One  may  arrive  at  a  general  knowledge 
of  the  standard  of  honesty,  disinterestedness,  and  civi 
lization  of  a  people,  it  is  true,  by  mingling  with  them 
in  much  frequented  places,  for  these  qualities  are 
always  comparative ;  but  he  who  would  form  an 
opinion  of  the  whole  by  such  specimens,  must  do  it 
under  the  correction  of  great  allowances.  I  believe 
the  New-Englandman,  however,  has  less  reason  than 
common  to  deprecate  a  general  decision  of  this  nature. 
A  good  deal  of  my  journey  was  unavoidably  on  a 
great  route,  and  though  I  found  some  inconveniences, 
and  rather  more  difficulty  in  penetrating  their  domes 
tic  reserve  there,  than  in  the  retired  valleys  o*  the  in 
terior,  still  the  great  distinctive  features  of  the  popu 
lation  were  every  where  decidedly  the  same. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  nearly  all  of  the  English 
travellers  who  have  written  of  America,  pass  lightly 
over  this  important  section  of  the  Union.  Neither 
do  they  seem  to  dwell  with  much  complacency  on 
those  adjoining  states,  where  the  habits  and  charac 
teristics  of  New  England  prevail  to  a  great  extent, 
through  the  emigrants  or  their  immediate  descend 
ants.  I  am  taught  to  believe  that,  including  the  in 
habitants  of  the  six  original  States,  not  less  than  four 
millions  of  the  American  people  are  descended  from 
the  settlers  of  Plymouth,  and  their  successors.  This 
number  is  about  four-tenths  of  the  white  population. 
If  one  recalls  the  peculiar  energy  and  activity  which 
distinguish  these  people,  he  may  be  able  to  form  some 
idea  of  their  probable  influence  on  the  character  of 
the  whole  country.  The  distinctive  habits  of  the 
Dutch,  which  lingered  among  the  possessors  of  the 
adjoining  province  of  New- York  even  until  the  com 
mencement  of  the  present  century,  have  nearly  dis 
appeared  before  the  tide  of  eastern  emigration ;  and 
there  is  said  to  be  scarcely  a  State  in  the  whole  COD 


OMISSION    OF    MR.    HODGSON.  99 

federation  which  has  not  imbibed  more  or  less  of  the 
impetus  of  its  inexhaustible  activity. 

Suspicion  might  easily  ascribe  an  unworthy  motive 
to  a  silence  that  is  so  very  uniform  on  the  part  of  in 
terested  observers.  Volumes  have  been  written  con 
cerning  the  half-tenanted  districts  of  the  west,  while 
the  manners  and  condition  of  the  original  States,  where 
the  true  effects  of  the  American  system  can  alone  be 
traced,  are  usually  disposed  of  in  a  few  hurried  pages. 
It  is  true  there  are  some  few  of  the  authors  in  my 
collection,  who  have  been  more  impartial  in  their 
notices,  but  most  of  them  appear  to  have  sought  so 
eagerly  for  subjects  of  derision,  as  to  have  overlooked 
the  more  dignified  materials  of  observation.  E^en 
the  respectable  Mr.  Hodgson,  who  seems  at  all  times 
ready  to  do  justice  to  the  Americans,  has  contented 
himself  with  giving  some  thirty  or  forty  pages  to  the 
State  of  New-York,  and  disposes  of  all  New-England 
(if  the  extraneous  matter  be  deducted),  Pennsylvania, 
New-Jersey,  and  Ohio,  in  about  the  same  space  that 
he  has  devoted  to  a  passage  through  the  wild  regions 
on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Though  the  states  just  men 
tioned  make  but  a  comparatively  indifferent  figure 
on  the  rjap,  they  contain  nearly,  if  not  quite,  half 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  country.  If  to  this  be 
added  the  fact,  that  in  extent  they  cover  a  surface 
about  equal  to  that  of  the  kingdom  of  France,  one 
may  be  permitted  to  express  some  surprise  that  they 
are  usually  treated  with  so  littl  3  deference.  An  Ame 
rican  would  be  very  much  inclined  to  ascribe  this 
uniform  neglect  to  an  illiberality  which  found  no 
pleasure  in  any  description  but  caricature,  though  I 
think  few  of  them  would  judge  so  harshly  of  the 
author  whose  name  I  have  just  mentioned.  As  Cad- 
wallader  expressed  it,  even  the  mistakes  of  such  a 
man  are  entitled  to  be  treated  with  respect.  A  much 
more  charitable,  and  in  the  instance  of  Mr.  Hodgson, 


100       INFLUENCE  OF   NEW-EXCJLAND    CHARACTER. 

I  am  fully  persuaded  a  more  just  explanation  would 
be  to  ascribe  this  apparent  partiality  to  the  woods, 
rather  to  a  love  of  novelty,  than  to  any  bare  thirst  of 
detraction.  There  is  little  to  appease  the  longings  of 
curiosity,  even  in  the  most  striking  characteristics  ot 
common  sense  :  nor  does  a  picture  of  the  best  endow 
ed  and  most  rational  state  of  being,  present  half  the 
attractions  to  our  imaginations,  as  one  in  which  scenes 
of  civilization  are  a  little  coloured  by  the  fresher  and 
more  vivid  tints  of  a  border  life. 

Still  he  who  would  seek  the  great  moving  principles 
\\hich  give  no  small  part  of  its  peculiar  tone  to  the 
American  character,  must  study  the  people  of  New- 
England  deeply.  It  is  there  that  he  will  find  the 
germ  of  that  tree  of  intelligence  which  has  shot  forth 
so  luxuriantly,  and  is  already  shading  the  land  with 
its  branches,  bringing  forth  most  excellent  fruits.  It 
is  there  that  religion,  and  order,  and  frugality,  and 
even  liberty,  have  taken  deepest  root :  and  no  liberal 
American,  however  he  may  cherish  some  of  the  pe 
culiarities  of  his  own  particular  State,  will  deny  them 
the  meed  of  these  high  and  honourable  distinctions. 
It  may  be  premature  in  one  who  has  kept  aloof  from 
their  large  towns,  to  pronounce  on  the  polish  of  a 
people  whom  he  has  only  seen  in  the  retirement  and 
simplicity  of  the  provinces.  Their  more  southern 
neighbours  say  they  are  wanting  in  some  of  the  nicer 
tact  of  polite  intercourse,  and  that  however  they  may 
shine  in  the  more  homely  and  domestic  virtues,  they 
are  somewhat  deficient  in  those  of  manner.  I  think 
nothing,  taken  with  a  certain  limitation,  to  be  more 
probable. 

I  saw  every  where  the  strongest  evidences  of  a 
greater  equality  of  condition  than  I  remember  ever 
before  to  have  witnessed.  Where  this  equality  exists, 
it  has  an  obvious  tendency  to  bring  the  extremes  of 
the  community  together.  What  the  peasant  gains 
the  gentleman  must  in  some  measure  lose.  The 


EQUALITY  OF  COIWITlUN   AJ\D  IT?  EFFECTS.      10! 

colours  get  intermingled,  where  the  shades  in  society 
are  so  much  softened.  Great  leisuie,  nay,  even  idle 
ness,  is  perhaps  necessary  to  exclusive  attention  to 
manner.  How  few,  dear  Waller,  excel  in  it,  even  in 
your  own  aristocratic  island,  where  it  is  found  that  a 
man  needs  no  small  servitude  in  the  more  graceful 
schools  of  the  continent,  to  figure  to  advantage  in  a 
saloon.  Perhaps  there  is  something  in  the  common 
habits  of  the  parent  and  the  child  that  is  not  favour 
able  to  a  cultivation  of  the  graces.  Institutions  which 
serve  to  give  man  pride  in  himself,  sometimes  lessen 
his  respect  for  others :  and  yet  I  see  nothing  in 
a  republican  government  that  is  at  all  incompatible 
with  the  highest  possible  refinement.  It  is  diffi 
cult  to  conceive  that  a  state  of  things  which  has  a 
tendency  to  elevate  the  less  fortunate  classes  of  our 
species,  should  necessarily  debase  those  whose  lots 
have  been  cast  in  the  highest.  The  peculiar  exterior 
of  the  New-Englandman  may  be  ascribed  with  more 
justice  to  the  restrained  and  little  enticing  manners 
of  his  puritan  ancestors.  Climate,  habits  of  thrift, 
and  unexampled  equality  of  rights  and  fortune,  may 
have  aided  to  perpetuate  a  rigid  aspect.  But  after  all, 
this  defect  in  manner  must,  as  I  have  already  said, 
be  taken  under  great  limitation.  Considered  in  ref 
erence  to  every  class  below  those  in  which,  from 
their  pursuits  and  education,  more  refinement  and 
tact  might  ceitainly  be  expected,  it  does  not  exist. 
On  the  contrary,  as  they  are  more  universally  intel 
ligent  than  their  counterparts  in  the  most  favoured 
European  countries,  so  do  they  exhibit,  in  their  de 
portment,  a  happier  union  of  self-respect  with  con 
sideration  for  others.  The  deficiency  is  oftener  man 
ifested  in  certain  probing  inquiries  into  the  individual 
concerns  of  other  people,  and  in  a  neglect  of  forms 
entirely  conventional,  but  which  by  their  generality 
have  become  established  rules  of  breeding,  than  by 
any  coarse  or  brutal  transgressions  of  natural  polite- 
K  2 


102    GROSS  CARICATURE  OF  THEIR  MANNERS. 

ness.  The  former  liberty  may  indeed  easily  degene 
rate  into  every  thing  that  is  both  repulsive  and  dis 
agreeable  ;  but  there  is  that  in  the  manner  of  a  New- 
Englandman,  when  he  most  startles  you  by  his  fa 
miliarity,  which  proves  he  means  no  harm.  The 
common,  vulgar  account  of  such  questions,  as  "  How 
far  are  you  travelling,  stranger?  and  where  do  you 
come  from  ?  and  what  may  your  name  be  ?"  if  ever 
true,  is  now  a  gross  caricature.  The  IN  ew-Englandman 
is  too  kind  in  all  his  habits  to  call  any  man  sivanger* 
His  usual  address  is  "  friend,"  or  sometimes  lie  com 
pliments  a  stranger  of  a  gentlemanly  appearance,  with 
the  title  of  "  squire."  I  sought  the  least  reserved 
intercourse  that  was  possible  with  them,  and  in  no 
instance  was  I  the  subject  of  the  smallest  intentional 
rudeness. t  I  say  intentional,  for  the  country  phy 
sician,  or  lawyer,  or  divine  (and  I  mingled  with  them 
all,)  was  ignorant  that  he  trespassed  on  the  rules  of 
rigid  breeding,  when  he  made  allusions,  however 
guarded,  to  my  individual  movements  or  situation. 
Indeed  I  am  inclined  to  suspect  that  the  Americans, 
in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  are  less  reserved  on  per 
sonal  subjects  than  we  of  Europe,  and  precisely  for 
the  reason  that  in  general  they  have  less  to  conceal. 
I  cannot  attribute  a  coarser  motive  than  innocent 
curiosity,  to  the  familiar  habits  of  a  people  who  in 
every  other  particular  are  so  singularly  tender  of 
each  other's  feelings.  The  usage  is  not  denied  even 
by  themselves ;  and  a  professor  of  one  of  their  uni 
versities  accounted  for  it  in  the  following  manner. 
The  people  of  New-England  were,  and  are  still,  inti 
mately  allied  in  feeling  no  less  than  in  blood.  Their 

*  Cadwallader  told  me  that  this  appellation  is,  indeed,  used  in 
the  new  States  to  the  south-west,  where  it  is  more  apposite,  and 
subsequent  observation  has  confirmed  the  fact. 

t  It  is  singular  that  every  English  traveller  the  writer  has 
read,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  exaggerations,  either  directly  or  in 
directly  admits  this  fact. 


PECULIAR  COURTESY  OF  THE  INHABITANTS.  103 

enterprise  early  separated  them  from  each  other  by 
wide  tracts  of  country;  and  before  the  introduction 
uf  journals  and  public  mails,  the  inhabitants  must 
have  been  dependent  on  travellers  for  most  of  their 
passing  intelligence.  It  is  not  difficult  to  conceive 
that,  in  a  country  where  thought  is  so  active,  inquiry 
was  not  suffered  to  slumber.  You  may  probably 
remember  to  have  seen,  when  we  were  last  at  Pom 
peii,  the  little  place  where  the  townsmen  were  said 
to  collect  in  order  to  glean  intelligence  from  Upper 
Italy.  A  similar  state  of  things  must,  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  have  existed  in  all  civilized  countries 
before  the  art  of  printing  was  known;  and,  in  this 
particular,  the  only  difference  between  New  and 
Old  England  probably  was,  that  as  the  people  of  the 
former  had  more  ideas  to  appease,  they  were  com 
pelled  to  use  greater  exertions  to  attain  their  object. 
But  apart  from  this,  I  will  confess  startling  familiarity, 
there  was  a  delicacy  of  demeanour  that  is  surprising 
in  a  population  so  remote  from  the  polish  of  the  large 
towns.  I  have  often  seen  the  wishes  of  the  meanest 
individual  consulted  before  any  trifling  change  was 
made  that  might  be  supposed  to  affect  the  comfort 
of  all.  In  this  species  of  courtesy,  I  think  them  a 
people  unequalled.  Scarcely  any  one,  however  ele 
vated  his  rank,  would  presume  to  make  a  change  in 
any  of  the  dispositions  of  a  public  coach,  (for  I  left 
my  wagon  for  a  time,)  in  a  window  of  a  hotel,  or  in 
deed  in  any  thing  in  which  others  might  have  an 
equal  concern,  without  a  suitable  deference  to  their 
wishes.  And  yet  I  have  seen  the  glance  of  one  wo 
man's  eye,  and  she  of  humble  condition  too,  instantly 
change  the  unanimous  decision  of  a  dozen  men. 

By  the  hand  of  the  fair  Isabel,  Waller  there  is 
something  noble  and  touching,  in  the  universal  and 
yet  simple  and  unpretending  homage  with  which 
these  people  treat  the  weaker  sex.  I  am  sure  a  wo 
man  here  has  only  to  respect  herself  in  order  to  meet 


104  THE   SITUATICN  OF   WOMEN. 

with  universal  deference.  I  now  understand  what 
Cadwallader  meant  when  he  said  that  America  was 
the  real  Paradise  of  woman.  The  attention  and  man 
liness  which  he  exhibited  for  the  Abigail  of  the  little 
Isabel,  is  common  to  the  meanest  man,  at  least  in 
New-England.  I  traversed  the  country  in  harvest 
time,  and  scarcely  recollect  to  have  seen  six  females 
in  the  fields,  and  even  they  appeared  there  only  on 
the  emergency  of  some  passing  shower.  When  one 
considers  the  price  which  labour  bears,  this  solitary 
fact  is  in  itself  pregnant  with  meaning.  A  little  boy 
whom  I  conveyed  with  his  father  in  my  wagon  a 
dozen  miles,  (for  I  neglected  no  opportunity  to  mix 
with  the  people,)  laughed  aloud  as  he  pointed  with 
his  finger  and  cried,  "  There  is  a  woman  at  work 
among  the  men !"  Had  he  seen  her  riding  a  war- 
horse  l  en  militaireS  he  could  scarcely  have  been 
more  amused.  After  all,  what  nobler  or  more  con 
vincing  proof  of  high  civilization  can  be  given  than 
this  habitual  respect  of  the  strong  for  the  weak  ? 
The  condition  of  women  in  this  country  is  solely 
owing  to  the  elevation  of  its  moral  feeling.  As  she 
is  never  misplaced  in  society,  her  influence  is  only 
felt  in  the  channels  of  ordinary  and  domestic  life. 

I  have  heard  young  and  silly  Europeans,  whose 
vanity  has  probably  been  wounded  in  finding  them 
selves  objects  of  secondary  interest,  affect  to  ridicule 
the  absorbed  attention  which  the  youthful  American 
matron  bestows  on  her  family ;  and  some  have  gone 
so  far  in  my  presence,  as  to  assert  that  a  lady  of  this 
country  was  no  more  than  an  upper  servant  in  the 
house  of  her  husband.  They  pay  us  of  the  eastern 
hemisphere  but  an  indifferent  compliment,  when  they 
assume  that  this  beautiful  devotion  to  the  first,  the 
highest,  and  most  lovely  office  of  the  sex,  is  peculiar 
to  the  women  of  station  in  America  only.  I  have 
ever  repelled  the  insinuation  as  becomes  a  man ; 
but,  alas  !  what  is  the  testimony  of  one  who  can 


RETIREMENT  FROM  THE  WORLD  105 

point  to  no  fireside,  or  household  of  his  own,  but  the 
dreaming  reverie  of  a  heated  brain  ?  Imaginary  or 
not,  I  think  one  might  repose  his  affections  on  hun 
dreds  of  the  fair,  artless  creatures  he  meets  with 
here,  with  an  entire  confidence  that  the  world  has 
not  the  first  place  in  her  thoughts.  To  me,  woman 
appears  to  fill  in  America  tise  very  station  for  which 
she  was  designed  by  nature.  In  the  lowest  conditions 
of  life  she  is  treated  with  the  tenderness  and  respect 
that  is  due  to  beings  whom  we  believe  to  be  the 
repositories  of  the  better  principles  of  our  nature. 
Retired  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  her  own  abode, 
she  is  preserved  from  the  destroying  taint  of  exces 
sive  intercourse  with  the  world.  She  makes  no  bar 
gains  beyond  those  which  supply  her  own  little  per 
sonal  wants,  and  her  heart  is  not  early  corrupted  by 
the  baneful  and  un feminine  vice  of  selfishness ;  she 
is  often  the  friend  and  adviser  of  her  husband,  but 
never  his  chapman.  She  must  be  sought  in  the  haunts 
of  her  domestic  privacy,  and  not  amid  the  wranglings, 
deceptions,  and  heart-burnings  of  keen  and  sordid 
traffic.  So  true  and  general  is  this  fact,  that  I  have 
remarked  a  vast  proportion  of  that  class  who  fre 
quent  the  markets,  or  vend  trifles  in  the  streets  of 
this  city,  occupations  that  are  not  unsuited  to  the 
feebleness  of  the  sex,  are  either  foreigners,  or  fe 
males  descended  from  certain  insulated  colonies  of 
the  Dutch,  which  still  retain  many  of  the  habits  of 
their  ancestors  amidst  the  improvements  that  are 
throwing  them  among  the  forgotten  usages  of  an 
other  century. 

The  effect  of  this  natural  and  inestimable  division 
of  employment,  is  in  itself  enough  to  produce  an  im 
pression  on  the  characters  of  a  whole  people.  It 
leaves  the  heart  and  principles  of  woman  untainted 
by  the  dire  temptations  of  strife  with  her  fellows 
The  husband  can  retire  from  his  own  sordid  strug 
gles  with  the  world  to  seek  consolation  and  correc- 


106  INFLUENCE  OF  WOMEN  IN  SOCIETY. 

hon  from  ©ne  who  is  placed  beyond  their  influence. 
The  first  impressions  of  the  child  are  drawn  from  the* 
purest  sources  known  to  our  nature ;  and  the  son, 
even  long  after  he  has  been  compelled  to  enter  on 
the  thorny  track  of  the  father,  preserves  the  memo 
rial  of  the  pure  and  unalloyed  lessons  that  he  has  re 
ceived  from  the  lips,  and,  what  is  far  better,  from  the 
example  of  the  mother.  Though  in  every  picture  of 
life  in  which  these  bright  colours  are  made,  the 
strongest  must  be  deadened  by  deep  and  painful 
shadows,  I  do  firmly  believe  that  the  undeniable  truth 
I  have  just  written  may  be  applied  with  as  much,  if 
not  with  more  justice,  to  the  condition  and  influence 
of  the  sex  in  New-England  as  in  any  portion  of  the 
globe.  I  saw  every  where  the  utmost  possible  care 
tft  preserve  the  females  from  undue  or  unwomanly 
employments.  If  there  was  a  burthen,  it  was  in  the 
arms  or  on  the  shoulders  of  the  man.  Even  labours 
that  seem  properly  to  belong  to  the  household,  were 
often  performed  by  the  latter ;  and  I  never  heard  the 
voice  of  the  wife  calling  on  the  husband  for  assistance, 
that  it  was  not  answered  by  a  ready,  manly,  and 
cheerful  compliance.  The  neatness  of  the  cottage,  the 
farm-house,  and  the  inn ;  the  clean,  tidy,  healthful,  and 
vigorous  look  of  the  children,  united  to  attest  the  use 
fulness  of  this  system.  What  renders  all  this  more  strik 
ing  and  more  touching,  is  the  circumstance  that  not 
only  is  labour  in  so  great  demand,  but,  contrary  to  the 
fact  in  all  the  rest  of  Christendom,  the  women  materi 
ally  exceed  the  men  in  numbers.  This  seeming  depar 
ture  from  what  is  almost  an  established  law  of  nature, 
is  owing  to  the  emigration  westward.  By  the  census 
of  1820,  it  appears,  that  in  the  six  States  of  New- 
England  there  were  rather  more  than  thirteen  females 
to  every  twelve  males  over  the  age  of  sixteen. 

It  is  vain  to  say  that  absence  of  selfishness,  and  all 
the  kinder  and  best  feelings  of  man,  are  no  more  than 
the  concomitants  of  abundance  and  simplicity,  which 


INFLUENCE  OF  GENERAL  INTELLIGENCE.  107 

in  themselves  are  the  fruits  of  a  spare  population  and 
of  provincial  retirement.  If  this  be  so  strictly  true, 
why  do  not  the  same  qualities  prevail  in  the  more 
favoured  regions  of  this  very  continent  ?  why  do  not 
order,  and  industry,  and  enterprise,  and  all  the  active 
and  healthful  virtues,  abound  in  South  as  in  North 
America  ?  why  is  not  the  fertile  province  of  Uppei 
Canada,  for  instance,  as  much  distinguished  for  its 
advancement  in  all  the  useful  arts  of  life  as  the  States 
of  the  neighbouring  republic?  and  why,  under  so 
many  physical  disadvantages,  are  the  comparatively 
sterile  and  rocky  States  of  New-England  remarkable 
for  these  very  qualities  amid  their  own  flourishing 
and  healthful  sisters  ?  It  cannot  be  the  religious  prin 
ciples  they  derived  from  their  ancestors,  since  the 
Pennsylvanian  and  the  New-Jerseyman,  and  even  the 
peaceful  and  honest  Hollander  of  New- York,  can 
claim  just  as  virtuous  a  descent.  It  cannot  be  any 
exclusive  succession  to  the  principles  and  habits  of 
their  English  ancestors,  since,  with  exceptions  too 
slight  to  affect  the  great  body  of  the  nation,  this  has 
been  an  inheritance  common  to  all.  It  cannot  be 
that  time  has  matured  their  institutions,  and  given 
play  and  energy  to  their  mental  advantages,  since 
Brazil,  and  Chili,  and  Mexico,  and  many  other  na 
tions  of  this  continent,  date  a  century  older,  and 
Virginia  and  New-York,  Canada  and  Louisiana,  are 
of  coeval  existence.  In  short,  it  cannot  even  be  their 
elastic  and  inciting  liberty,  for  that  too  is  a  principle 
which  has  never  been  suffered  to  slumber  in  any  of 
the  vast  and  varied  regions  of  this  great  confederation. 
We  must  seek  the  solution  in  a  cause  which  is  the 
parent  of  all  that  is  excellent  and  great  in  communi 
ties,  no  less  than  in  individuals.  I  mean  intelligence. 
That  pitiful  and  narrow  theory  which,  thank  God, 
is  now  getting  into  disuse  in  Europe,  and  which 
taught  the  doctrine  that  instruction  became  dangerous 
to  those  who  could  not  push  learning  to  its  limits, 


108    THE  EFFECTS  OF  GENERAL  INTELLIGENCE. 

was  never  in  fashion  here.  The  limits  of  learning ; 
As  if  any  one  could  yet  pronounce  on  the  boun  1- 
aries  which  the  Almighty  has  been  pleased  to  set 
between  the  efforts  of  our  reason  and  his  own  om 
niscience.  It  is  true  that  the  wisest  men  are  always 
the  most  truly  modest;  for,  having  outstripped  theii 
competitors  in  the  attainment  of  human  knowledge 
they  alone  can  know  how  much  there  is  necessarily 
beyond  their  reach,  and  how  impossible  it  is  for 
mortals  to  attain  it.  But  who  could  ev-er  yet  say  he 
had  taxed  his  faculties  to  the  utmost.  The  world 
has  been  amusing  itself  with  assumed  axioms  on  this 
subject,  when  it  might  have  been  better  employed 
in  investigating  the  truth  in  its  more  useful  and  prac 
tical  forms.  The  self-sufficiency  of  pretenders  ha^ 
been  tortured  into  an  evidence  of  the  danger  of  em 
piricism  in  knowledge.  As  well  might  the  pedantry 
and  foibles  of  the  student  himself  be  perverted  to  an 
argument  against  learning,  as  to  say  that  thought  mu?t 
be  kept  in  subjection  because  it  sometimes  leads  to 
error.  The  fruits  of  knowledge  are  not  to  be  weighed 
by  the  credit  they  reflect  on  this  or  that  searcher 
after  truth,  but  by  the  influence  they  produce  on  the 
mass  of  society.  The  man,  who,  from  defect  of  pow 
ers,  or  from  any  other  adverse  circumstance,  cannot 
assist  in  the  advancement  of  intelligence,  may,  not 
withstanding,  become  the  wholesome  recipient  of 
truth ;  and  the  community  which  encourages  a  dis 
semination  of  the  sacred  quality,  enjoys  an  incalcu 
lable  advantage  over  all  others,  inasmuch  as  each  of 
its  members  starts  so  much  nearer  to  the  goal  for 
which  every  people  must  strive,  (and  that  too  through 
its  individual  members,)  in  order  to  secure  a  distin 
guished  place  in  the  great  competition  of  nations. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  retired,  distant,  and 
little  regarded  States  of  which  I  am  writing,  had 
matured  and  were  reaping  the  rare  fruits  of  a  sys 
tem  of  extended  general  instruction,  for  quite  a  cen- 


PECULIAR    MERIT    OF    NEW-ENGLAND.  109 

tury,  when  a  distinguished  advocate  for  reform  (Mr. 
Brougham),  in  the  Parliament  of  your  own  country, 
that  country  which  was  then,  and  is  still  giving  les 
sons  to  Europe  in  liberty  and  government,  charmed 
the  ears  of  the  liberal  by  visions  of  a  similar  plan  for 
yourselves,  which  then  existed,  as  it  now  exists,  only 
in  the  washes  of  the  truly  wise  and  benevolent.  And 
yet  one  hears  of  the  great  moral  debt  that  the  people 
of  New  owe  to  the  people  of  Old  England !  The 
common  ancestors  may  have  left  a  goodly  inheritance 
to  their  children ;  but  on  this  subject,  at  least,  it  ap 
pears  to  me  that  the  emigrant  to  the  western  hemi 
sphere  has  made  of  his  talent  ten  talents,  while  his 
kinsman,  who  remained  at  home,  has  done  little  more 
than  imitate  the  example  of  him  who  met  with  any 
thing  but  unqualified  approbation. 

In  reviewing  my  letter,  I  see  that  I  have  written 
warmly,  and  with  a  portion  of  that  interest  which 
the  two  subjects  that  have  been  its  themes  rarely 
fail  to  inspire.  As  I  know  you  enter  fully  into  all 
my  feelings,  both  for  the  fair  and  for  general  instruc 
tion,  (for  however  lame  and  defective  may  have  been 
the  policy  of  your  nation,  compared  with  that  of 
your  kinsmen  here,  there  still  exists  in  England,  as 
in  Denmark,  and  a  few  other  nations,  a  high  and 
noble  spirit  of  emulation,)  I  shall  not  recall  a  single 
sentence  of  that  which  has  escaped  my  pen.  But  the 
subject  must  be  left,  until  further  opportunity  shall 
be  given  to  look  into  the  society  of  New-England  in 
its  large  towns. 

During  the  whole  of  my  recent  excursion,  though 
I  purposely  avoided  encountering  La  Fayette,  his 
visit  has  been  a  constant  and  inexhaustible  topic  of 
conversation.  His  journey  along  the  coast  has  been 
like  the  passage  of  a  brilliant  meteor.  In  every  vil 
lage  he  has  been  received  with  modest,  but  heartfelt 
rejoicings,  while  his  entrances  into  the  cities  have 
been  literally  triumphant.  That  there  have  been 


110  NEW-YORK. 

some  exhibitions  of  joy  which  a  fastidious  taste  might 
reject,  cannot  be  denied;  but  you  will  remember  that 
the  people  of  this  country  are  left  to  express  their 
own  sentiments  in  their  own  fashion.  The  surprise 
should  be,  not  that  the  addresses  and  receptions  of 
which  you  will  doubtless  see  some  account  in  Europe, 
are  characterized  by  so  little,  but  that  they  are  dis 
tinguished  by  so  much  soundness  of  discrimination, 
truth  of  principle,  and  propriety  of  manner. — Adieu. 


TO  THE  BARON  VON  KEMPERFELT, 
&c.  Sec. 


New-York,  1824. 

I  FEEL  that  a  description  of  this  ancient  city  of  the 
United  Provinces  is  due  to  you.  In  dwelling  on  its 
admirable  position,  its  growing  prosperity,  and  its 
probable  grandeur,  I  wish  to  excite  neither  your 
hopes,  nor  your  regrets.  I  have  seen  enough  of  this 
country  already,  to  know,  that  in  losing  the  New- 
Netherlands  in  their  infancy,  you  only  escaped  the 
increased  misfortune  of  having  them  wrested  from 
your  power  by  their  own  efforts  at  a  more  advanced 
period,  when  the  struggle  might  have  cost  you,  like 
that  which  England  has  borne,  and  Spain  still  suf 
fers — an  incalculable  expenditure  of  men  and  money. 
You  are  thrice  happy  that  your  dominion  in  this 
quarter  of  America  did  not  endure  long  enough  to 
leave,  in  its  train,  any  mortifying  and  exasperating 
recollections.  The  Dutch  are  still  remembered  here 
with  a  feeling  strongly  allied  to  affinity,  by  thousands 
of  their  descendants,  who  if,  among  their  more  rest 
less  and  bustling  compatriots  of  the  east,  they  are  not 
distinguished  for  the  great  enterprise  which  is  pecu- 


WHAT    IT    SHOULD    HAVE    BEEN-.  Ill 

liar  to  that  energetic  population,  have  ever  main 
tained  the  highest  character  for  thrift,  undeniable 
courage,  and  inflexible  probity.  These  are  qualities 
which  never  fail  to  create  respect,  and  which,  by 
some  unfortunate  construction  of  the  human  mind, 
as  rarely  excite  envy  as  emulation. 

The  name  of  the  town,  itself,  is  far  from  being 
happy.  The  place  stands  on  a  long  narrow  island, 
called  Manhattan,  a  native  appellation  which  should 
have  been  perpetuated  through  that  of  the  city. 
There  was  a  precedent  for  innovation  which  might 
have  been  followed  to  advantage.  It  is  a  little  sur 
prising  that  these  republicans,  who  are  not  guiltless 
of  sundry  absurd  changes  in  their  nomenclature  of 
streets,  squares,  counties,  and  towns,  should  have  ne 
glected  the  opportunity  of  the  Revolution,  not  only 
to  deprive  the  royal  family  of  England  of  the  honour 
of  giving  a  name  to  both  their  principal  State  and 
principal  town,  but  to  restore  a  word  so  sonorous, 
and  which  admits  of  so  many  happy  variations  as  the 
appellation  of  this  island.  A  "  Manhattanese"  has  cer 
tainly  a  more  poetical  sound  than  a  "New-Yorker;" 
and  there  is  an  euphony  in  the  phrase  of  "  Men  of 
Manhattan"  that  the  lovers  of  alliteration  may  long  sigh 
in  vain  to  hear  equalled  by  any  transposition  of  the 
present  unmusical  and  complex  term.  Nor  would  the 
adoption  of  a  new  name  be  attended  with  half  of  the 
evils  in  the  case  of  a  city  or  a  county,  as  in  that  of  a 
street  or  a  market,  since  the  very  notoriety  and  im 
portance  of  the  alteration  would  serve  to  apprise  all 
men  of  the  circumstance.  But  a  century  and  a  half 
have  confirmed  the  present  title ;  and  while  the  city 
of  the  white  rose  has  been  mouldering  in  provincial 
quiet,  her  western  god-child  has  been  growing  into 
an  importance  that  is  likely  to  carry  the  name  to 
that  distant  period  when  the  struggles  of  the  adverse 
factions  shall  be  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  time,  or  be 
snatter  of  vague  and  remote  history. 


112  THE  BAYS  AROUND  NEW-YORK. 

A  nation  as  commercial  and  active  as  this,  has 
only  fairly  to  elect  the  position  of  its  favourite  mart 
to  put  it  on  a  level  with  the  chief  places  of  the  earth. 
London  and  Paris,  Vienna,  Rome,  Carthage,  and, 
for  any  thing  we  know,  Pekin  and  Nankin,  can  refer 
the  causes  of  their  greatness  to  little  beside  accident 
or  caprice.  The  same  might  be  said  of  hundreds 
more  of  the  principal  places  of  antiquity,  or  of  our 
own  times.  But  it  is  only  necessary  to  sit  down 
with  a  minute  map  of  the  country  before  you,  to 
perceive,  at  a  glance,  that  Nature  herself  has  intend 
ed  the  island  of  Manhattan  for  the  site  of  one  of  the 
greatest  commercial  towns  in  the  world.  The  spirit 
of  its  possessors  is  not  likely  to  balk  this  intention  , 
and  it  may  be  truly  said,  that  the  agents,  both  phys 
ical  and  moral,  are  in  the  happiest  possible  unison 
to  accomplish  the  mighty  plan.  Although  all  de 
scription  must  fail  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  the  advan 
tages  of  such  a  position,  yet,  as  your  imagination 
may  be  somewhat  aided  by  one  as  imperfect  as  that 
must  necessarily  be  which  comes  from  my  pen,  it 
shall  be  attempted  after  my  own  desultory  and  irreg 
ular  manner. 

You  must  have  obtained,  through  my  letters,  some 
general  impression  concerning  the  two  great  ba}s 
which  lie  between  New- York  and  the  ocean.  The 
former,  you  will  recollect,  is  known  by  the  name  of 
"Raritan,"  and  the  latter  forms  what  is  properly 
called  the  "Harbour."  Raritan  Bay  is  an  extensive 
roadstead,  abounding  with  situations  where  vessels 
may  be  partially  protected  from  every  wind  that 
blows.  It  is,  in  fact,  only  open  to  the  sea  on  the 
east ;  but,  by  the  aid  of  the  low  sandy  cape  I  have 
mentioned,  shelter  can  be  had  in  it  against  the  hea 
viest  gales  from  that  quarter,  as  it  may  also  be  found 
in  some  one  of  its  many  anchoring  grounds,  against 
the  wind  from  every  other  point  of  the  compass 
The  harbour  is  still  more  secure ;  a  vessel  being  en- 


HARBOUR,  ANCHORAGE,  ETC.  113 

tirely  land-locked,  when  anchored  a  mile  or  two 
within  the  Narrows.  Here  then  are  space  and 
security  united  to  an  extraordinary  degree  ;  for,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  well-defined  reefs,  there  is 
scarcely  a  rock  in  the  whole  port  to  endanger  a  ship, 
or  even  to  injure  a  cable.  But  the  true  basins  for  the 
loading  and  unloading  of  freights,  and  for  the  repairs 
and  construction  of  vessels,  are  in  the  Hudson  river, 
and  in  that  narrow  arm  of  the  sea  which  connects 
the  waters  of  the  bay  with  those  of  the  sound.  The 
latter  is  most  occupied  at  present  by  the  ships  en 
gaged  in  foreign  commerce.  This  strait  is  near  half- 
a-mile  in  width,  has  abundance  of  water  for  any 
thing  that  floats,  and  possesses  a  moderately  swift, 
and  a  sufficiently  accurate  current.  From  the  point 
of  its  junction  with  the  bay,  to  an  island,  which,  by 
narrowing  its  boundaries,  increases  the  velocity  of 
its  tides  too  much  for  the  convenience  of  handling 
ships  at  wharfs,  the  distance  cannot  be  a  great  deal 
less  than  five  miles.  The  wharfs  on  Manhattan  Island 
already  extend  more  than  three  of  these  miles.  On 
the  opposite  shore  (Long  Island)  there  is  also  a  long 
range  of  quays.  In  the  Hudson,  it  is  impossible  to 
fix  limits  to  the  facilities  for  commerce.  As  the  river 
is  a  mile  in  width,  and  possesses  great  depth,  it  is 
plain  that  docks  or  wharfs  may  be  extended  as  far 
as  the  necessities  of  the  place  shall  ever  require. 
The  river  is  navigable  for  a  heavy  draught  of  water 
about  a  hundred  miles,  and  for  sloops  and  lighter 
craft  some  fifty  or  sixty  more. 

The  time  has  not  yet  come  for  the  formation  of 
massive,  permanent  quays  in  the  harbour  of  New- 
York.  Wood  is  still  too  cheap,  and  labour  too  dear, 
for  so  heavy  an  investment  of  capital.  All  the  wharfs 
of  New- York  are  of  very  simple  constructicn.  A 
frame-work  of  hewn  logs  is  filled  A*»J;h  loose  stone, 
and  covered  with  a  surface  of  trodden  earth.  This 
species  of  quay,  if  durability  be  put  out  of  the  ques- 
L  2 


114        YELLOW    FEVER BUT    LITTLE  DREADED. 

tion,  is  perhaps  the  best  in  the  world.  The  theory 
that  wood  subject  to  the  action  of  tides  in  salt  water 
may  become  the  origin  of  disease,  is,  like  a  thou 
sand  other  theories,  much  easier  advanced  than 
supported.  It  is  very  true  that  the  yellow  fever  hae 
often  existed  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  some  oi 
these  wharfs ;  but  it  is  quite  as  true  that  there  an 
miles  of  similarly  constructed  quays,  in  precisely  the 
same  climate,  where  it  has  never  existed  at  all.  The 
Americans  appear  to  trouble  themselves  very  little 
on  this  point,  for  they  are  daily  constructing  great 
ranges  of  these  wooden  piers,  in  order  to  meet  the 
increasing  demands  of  their  trade,  while  the  whole 
of  the  seven  miles  of  water  which  fronts  the  city,  is 
lined  with  similar  constructions,  if  we  except  the 
public  mall,  called  "  the  Battery,"  which  is  protected 
from  the  waves  of  the  bay  by  a  wall  of  stone. 

The  yellow  fever  is  certainly  the  only  drawback 
on  the  otherwise  unrivalled  commercial  position  of 
New- York  ;  but  the  hazard  of  this  disease  is  greatly 
magnified  in  Europe.  The  inhabitants  of  the  place 
appear  to  have  but  little  dread  on  the  subject,  and 
past  experience  would  seem,  in  a  great  measure,  to 
justify  their  indifference.  So  far  as  I  can  learn,  there 
never  have  been  but  three  or  four  summers  when  that 
fatal  malady  has  committed  any  very  serious  ravages 
in  this  latitude.  These  seasons  occurred  at  the  close 
of  the  last,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the  present 
century.  Since  the  year  1804,  there  have  been  but 
two  autumns  when  the  yellow  fever  has  existed  to 
any  dangerous  degree  in  New-York,  and  neither  of 
them  proved  very  fatal,  though  it  is  certain  that  the 
arrangements  of  the  city  were  excessively  inconve 
nienced  by  its  appearance.  I  believe  it  is  admitted 
by  scientific  men,  that  this  dangerous  malady,  though 
it  is  always  characterized  by  certain  infallible  symp 
toms,  often  exhibits  itself  under  forms  so  very  much 
modified  as  to  render  different  treatments  necessary 


FEVER  OF  1819  AND  1822.         115 

in  different  seasons.  The  fevers  of  1819  and  of  1822 
in  New- York,  were  accompanied  by  circumstances 
so  singular  as  to  deserve  a  particular  place  in  this 
letter. 

The  wharfs  of  New-York  form  a  succession  of  little 
basins,  which  are  sometimes  large  enough  to  admit 
thirty  or  forty  sail,  though  often  much  smaller.  These 
irregular  docks  have  obtained  the  name  of  "  slips.' 
One  of  the  former  was  shown  me  that  was  particu 
larly  foul  and  offensive.  Around  this  slip,  at  the  close 
of  the  hot  weather  in  1819,  the  yellow  fever  made  its 
appearance.  A  few  individuals  became  its  victims  be 
fore  the  existence  of  the  danger  was  fully  established. 
The  city  authorities-  took  prompt  and  happy  meas 
ures  for  its  suppression.  The  question  of  contagion 
or  of  non-contagion  had  long  been  hotly  contested 
among  the  medical  men,  and  a  sort  of  middle  course, 
between  the  precautions  inculcated  by  the  two 
theories,  had  begun  to  be  practised.  So  soon  as  it 
was  found  how  far  the  disease  extended,  (and  its 
limits  were  inconceivably  small,)  the  inhabitants  were 
all  removed,  and  the  streets  were  fenced,  in  order 
to  prevent  access  to  what  was  proclaimed  by  au 
thority  to  be  "  the  infected  district."  The  sick  were 
conveyed  into  other  quarters  of  the  town,  or  to  the 
country,  some  dying  and  others  recovering.  When 
the  removal  was  made  in  time,  or  when  the  disease 
did  not  make  its  appearance  until  after  the  patient 
had  experienced  the  benefit  of  pure  air,  the  malady 
was  generally  more  mild,  though  still  often  fatal.  No 
one  took  the  disease  by  contagion,  it  being  affirmed 
that  every  case  that  occurred  could  be  distinctly 
traced  to  "  the  infected  district.1'  The  taint,  cor 
ruption,  or  animalculae  in  the  air,  whichever  the 
cause  of  the  malady  might  be,  gradually  spread,  until 
it  was  found  necessary  to  extend  the  limits  of  "  the 
infected  district1'  in  every  direction.  I  am  told  that 
thousands  remained  in  their  dwellings,  within  mus- 


116        INSTANCE  OF   CONTRACTING  THE   DISEASE. 

ket-shot  of  this  spot  dedicated  to  death,  perfectly 
satisfied  that  the  enemy  could  make  no  inroads  on 
their  security  without  giving  notice  of  his  approach 
through  some  of  those  who  dwelt  nearest  to  the  pro* 
scribed  region.  As  the  latter,  however,  acted  as  a 
sort  of  forlorn  hope,  a  very  respectable  space  was 
left  around  the  fences,  and,  in  one  or  two  instances, 
especially  in  1822,  the  disease,  for  want  of  nearer 
subjects,  surprised  a  few  who  believed  themselves 
sufficiently  removed  from  its  ravages.  In  neither 
year,  however,  did  a  case  occur  that  could  not  be 
distinctly  traced  to  "  the  infected  district,"  or  to  a 
space  that  does  not  exceed  one  thirtieth  part  of  the 
surface  of  the  whole  city.  The  progress  of  the  dis 
ease  was  exceedingly  slow,  extending  in  a  circle 
around  the  point  whence  it  appeared  to  emanate.  I 
heard  several  curious  and  well  authenticated  cir 
cumstances,  that  serve  to  confirm  these  facts,  one  of 
which  I  will  relate. 

A  lady  of  fortune  had  retired  to  the  country  on  the 
first  appearance  of  the  fever.  The  house  she  left, 
stood  a  few  hundred  feet  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
"  infected  district."  Her  son  had  occasion  to  visit 
this  dwelling,  which  he  did  without  scruple,  since 
the  guardians  of  the  city  were  thought  to  be  on  the 
alert,  and  hundreds  were  still  residing  between  the 
house  and  the  known  limits  of  the  disease.  On  the 
return  of  the  young  gentleman  to  the  country  he  was 
seized  with  the  fever,  but  happily  recovered.  The 
fortune  and  connexions  of  the  youth  gave  notoriety 
to  his  case,  and  the  fences  were  removed  under  the 
impression  that  the  danger  was  spreading.  After  his 

recovery,  however,  Mr. acknowledged  that,  led 

by  his  curiosity,  he  had  gone  to  the  fence  the  day  he 
was  in  town,  where  he  stood  for  some  time  contem 
plating  the  solitude  of  the  deserted  streets.  My  in 
formant,  who  could  be  a  little  waggish  even  on  this 
grave  subject,  added,  that  some  pretended  that  the 


THEORIES   CONCERNING  THE  FEVER.  117 

curiosity  of  the  young  gentleman  wa^  so  strong  as  to 
induce  him  to  thrust  his  head  through  an  opening  in 
the  fence.  He,  however,  gave  credit  to  the  story  in 
its  substance. 

The  malady  rarely  appears  before  the  last  of 
August,  and  has  invariably  disappeared  with  the  first 
frosts,  which  are  commonly  felt  here  in  October. 
The  fever  of  1 822  caused  much  less  alarm  than  that 
of  1819,  though  the  infected  district  was  far  more 
extensive,  and  occupied  a  part  of  the  city  that  was 
supposed  to  be  more  healthy.  But  experience  had 
shown  that  the  disorder  has  its  limits,  and  that  its 
march  is  slow  and  easily  avoided.  The  merchants 
estimate  the  danger  of  the  fever  in  this  climate  at  a 
very  low  rate  ;  and,  perhaps,  like  the  plague,  or  those 
fatal  diseases  which  have  ravaged  London,  and  other 
towns  in  the  centre  of  Europe,  it  will  soon  cease  to 
create  uneasiness  at  all. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  glean  all  the  interesting 
facts  in  my  power  concerning  this  disease,  from  men 
of  intelligence,  who  have  not,  like  the  physicians, 
enlisted  themselves  in  favour  of  one  or  the  other  of 
the  conflicting  theories  of  contagion  or  non-contagion, 
importation  or  non-importation.  It  appears  to  be 
admitted  all  round,  that  the  disorder  cannot  be  con 
tracted  in  a  pure  atmosphere.  If  the  circumstances 
I  have  heard  be  true,  and  from  the  authority  I  can 
not  doubt  their  being  so,  it  seems  also  to  be  a  nearly 
inevitable  conclusion,  that  the  disease  is  never  gen 
erated  in  this  climate.  This,  however,  is  a  knotty 
point,  and  one  that  covers  much  of  the  grounds  of 
disagreement.  That  a  certain  degree  and  concen 
tration  of  heat  is  necessary  for  the  appearance  of  the 
yellow  fever,  is  a  fact  very  generally  admitted.  There 
is  a  common  opinion  that  it  has  never  been  known 
in  New-York,  except  in  summers  when  the  ther 
mometer  has  stood  something  above  80  for  a  given 
number  of  days  in  succession.  And  yet  the  tempera 


118     FACTS  CONCERNING   THE   DISEASE.    THEORIES. 

ture  is  often  as  high,  and  for  similar  periods,  without 
the  appearance  of  the  fever.  The  seeds  of  the  dis 
ease  are  undoubtedly  imported,  whether  it  is  evei 
generated  here  or  not ;  for  it  has  often  happened  that 
labourers  who  have  been  employed  in  vessels  from 
the  West  Indies,  after  the  crews  had  left  them,  have 
sickened  and  died.  These  cases  must  have  arisen 
from  a  contaminated  air,  and  not  from  strict  conta 
gion.  Indeed  there  is  scarce  a  summer  in  which 
some  case  of  the  fever  does  not  occur  at  the  Laz 
aretto,  through  vessels  from  the  West  Indies,  or  the 
more  southern  points  of  the  United  States.  That 
the  disorder  does  not  extend  itself  is  imputed  to  the 
pureness  of  the  atmosphere  at  the  time  being.  In  a 
question  in  which  important  facts  are  liable  to  so 
much  qualification,  it  is  necessary,  however,  to  admit 
their  inferences  with  great  caution.  So  much  must 
depend,  for  instance,  on  the  particular  state  of  the 
system  of  the  individual,  that  each  case  seems  to  re 
quire  a  close  examination  before  any  very  conclusive 
reasoning  can  be  grounded  on  its  circumstances. 
One  of  the  theories  of  the  disorder,  as  you  probably 
know,  assumes  that  it  is  no  more  than  a  high  bilious 
fever  exhibited  under  a  peculiarly  malignant  form. 
All  this  may  be  very  true,  and  yet  the  agent  to  pro 
duce  that  malignity,  may  exist  in  the  atmosphere  in 
such  a  condition  as  to  render  it  capable  of  transport 
ation,  and  if  I  may  so  express  it,  of  expansion.  There 
is  a  vulgar  opinion  that  certain  vicious  animalculae 
are  generated  in  the  warmer  climates,  and  when  con 
veyed  to  this  latitude,  if  they  meet  with  a  genial 
temperature,  they  thrive  and  propagate  their  species 
like  other  people,  until  growing  bold  with  their  nun> 
bers  they  wander  abroad,  are  inhaled,  and  continue 
to  poison  the  springs  of  human  existence,  until  a  day 
of  retribution  arrives  in  the  destroying  influence  of 
a  sharp  frost.  It  is  certain  that  the  inhabitants  of 
New -York,  who  would  have  considered  their  lives 


CHARACTER.  OF  NEW-YORK   FOR   HEALTH.  119 

in  jeopardy  by  entering  their  dwellings  one  da)',  take 
peaceable  possession  of  them  the  morning  after  a 
wholesome  frost,  with  entire  impunity.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  much  of  the  embarrassment  under  which 
this  subject  labours,  is  produced  by  the  near  resem 
blance  between  the  fever  which  is  certainly  imported, 
and  that  which  sometimes  originates  in  the  climate; 
though  the  latter,  perhaps,  is  limited  to  those  cases 
in  which  the  patient  has  a  strong  predisposition  to 
the  malady.  After  all,  the  most  exaggerated  notions 
prevail  in  Europe  concerning  the  danger  of  the  dis 
ease  in  this  latitude.  Nine-tenths  of  the  space  cov 
ered  by  this  city  never  had  an  original  case  of  yellow 
fever  in  it,  and  its  appearance  at  all  is  of  rare  occur 
rence.  Indeed,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  New- York, 
owing  to  its  fine  situation,  is  on  the  whole  more 
healthy  than  most  large  towns.  It  has  also  been 
told  to  me,  that  the  deaths  by  consumption,  as  re 
ported,  are  probably  greatly  magnified  beyond  the 
truth,  since  the  family  physician  or  friend  of  one  who 
has  died,  for  instance,  by  excessive  use  of  ardent 
liquors,  would  not  be  apt  to  tell  the  disreputable 
truth,  especially  as  it  is  not  exacted  under  the  obli 
gations  of  an  oath.  Though  I  have  as  yet  seen  no 
reason  to  believe  that  intemperance,  particularly 
among  the  native  Americans,  abounds  here  more  than 
in  other  countries,  yet  I  can  readily  believe  it  is  very 
fatal  in  its  consequences  in  a  latitude  where  the  tem 
perature  is  so  high  in  summer.  There  are  certainly 
disorders  that  are  more  or  less  incidental  to  the  cli 
mate,  but  there  are  many  others  of  a  pernicious  char 
acter,  that  are  either  relatively  innocent,  or  utterly 
unknown.  When  it  is  remembered  that,  compared 
with  the  amount  of  the  whole  population,  a  far  greater 
number  than  usual  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  are 
of  that  reckless  and  adventurous  class  that  regard 
indulgence  more  than  life,  and  how  easy  it  is  to  pro 
cure  indulgence  here,  1  think  it  will  be  found  by  the 


120  NEW-YORK    A    CLEAN    TOWN. 

official  reports,  that  the  city  of  New-York  may  claim 
a  high  place  among  the  most  salubrious  ports  of  the 
world.  This  impression  will  be  increased,  when  one 
recalls  how  little  has  as  yet  been  done  towards  ob 
taining  wholesome  water,  or  to  carry  off  the  impuri 
ties  of  the  place  by  means  of  drains.  Still,  as  it  is, 
New- York  is  far  from  being  a  dirty  town.  It  has 
certainly  degenerated  from  that  wholesome  and  un 
tiring  cleanliness  which  it  may  be  supposed  to  have 
inherited  from  its  first  possessors.  The  houses  are 
no  longer  scrubbed  externally,  nor  is  it  required  to 
leave  one's  slippers  at  its  gates,  lest  the  dust  of  the 
roads  should  sully  the  brightness  of  glazed  tiles  and 
glaring  bricks.  But  Paris  is  foul  indeed,  and  London, 
in  its  more  crowded  parts,  far  from  being  cleanly, 
compared  to  New-York.  And  yet  the  commercial 
emporium  of  this  nation  bears 'no  goodly  reputation 
in  this  particular,  among  the  Americans  themselves. 
Her  sister  cities  are  said  to  be  far  more  lovely,  and 
the  filth  of  the  town  is  a  subject  of  daily  meanings  in 
its  own  journals. 

But  admitting  the  evil  in  its  fullest  extent,  it  is  but 
a  trifling  blot  on  the  otherwise  high  pretensions  of 
the  place.  Time,  and  a  better  regulated  police,  will 
serve  to  remedy  much  greater  evils  than  this.  In 
order  to  view  the  city  in  its  proper  light,  it  must  be 
considered  in  connexion  with  those  circumstances 
which  are  fast  giving  to  it  the  character  of  the  great 
mart  of  the  western  hemisphere. 

By  referring  to  the  description  already  given,  you 
will  find  that  New-York  possesses  the  advantages  of 
a  capacious  and  excellent  roadstead,  a  vast  harbour, 
an  unusually  extensive  natural  basin,  with  two  out 
lets  to  the  sea,  and  a  river  that,  in  itself,  might  con 
tain  all  the  shipping  of  the  earth.  By  means  of  the 
Sound,  and  its  tributary  waters,  it  has  the  closest 
connexion  with  the  adjoining  State  of  Connecticut; 
and,  through  the  ajacent  bays,  small  vessels  penetrate 


SURROUNDING  COMMUNICATION  BY  WATER.        121 

in  almost  every  direction  into  that  of  New-Jersey. 
These  are  the  channels  by  which  the  town  receives 
its  ordinary  daily  supplies.  Cadwallader  pointed 
out  on  the  map  seven  considerable  navigable  rivers, 
exclusive  of  the  noble  Hudson,  and  a  vast  number 
of  inlets,  creeks,  and  bays,  all  of  which  were  within 
a  hundred  miles  of  this  place,  and  with  which  dail) 
and  hourly  intercourse  is  held  by  means  of  sloops, 
or  steam-boats.  Still  these  are  no  more  than  the 
minor  and  more  familiar  advantages  of  New- York, 
which,  however  they  may  contribute  to  her  con 
venience,  become  insignificant  when  compared  to 
the  more  important  sources  of  her  prosperity.  It  is 
true  that  in  these  little  conveniences,  Nature  has 
done  the  work  that  man  would  probably  have  to 
perform  a  century  hence,  and  thereby  is  the  growth 
of  the  town  greatly  facilitated,  but  the  true  springs 
of  its  future  grandeur  must  be  described  on  a  far 
more  magnificent  scale. 

New-York  stands  central  between  the  commerce 
of  the  north  and  that  of  the  south.  It  is  the  first 
practicable  port,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  after  you 

?uit  the  mouth  of  the  Chesapeake,  going  northward, 
t  lies  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  coast,  and  where 
the  courses  to  Europe,  to  the  West  Indies,  or  to  the 
Southern  Atlantic,  can  be  made  direct.  The  ship 
from  Virginia,  or  Louisiana,  commonly  passes  within 
a  day's  sail  of  New- York,  on  its  way  to  Europe,  and 
the  coaster  from  Boston  frequently  stops  at  the 
wharfs  of  this  city  to  deposit  part  of  its  freight  before 
proceeding  further  south. 

Now,  one  so  conversant  with  the  world  as  yourself, 
need  not  be  reminded  that  in  every  great  commercial 
community  there  is  a  tendency  to  create  a  common 
mart,  where  exchanges  can  be  regulated,  loans  effect* 
ed,  cargoes  vended  in  gross,  and  all  other  things  con 
nected  with  trade,  transacted  on  a  scale  commen- 
M 


122       INCREASE,  AND  CONSEQUENCE  OF  SUCCESS. 

surate  to  the  magnitude  of  the  inteiests  involved  in 
its  pursuits.  The  natural  advantages  of  New-York 
had  indicated  this  port  to  the  Americans  for  that 
spot,  immediately  after  the  restoration  of  the  peace 
in  1783,  Previously  to  that  period,  the  whole  pro 
ceedings  of  the  colonies  were  more  or  less  influenced 
by  the  policy  of  the  mother  country.  But  for  a  long 
time  after  the  independence  of  the  States  was  ac 
knowledged,  the  possessors  of  the  island  of  Manhat 
tan  had  to  contend  for  supremacy  against  a  powerful 
rivalry.  Philadelphia,  distant  less  than  a  hundred 
miles,  was  not  only  more  wealthy  and  more  populous 
but  for  many  years  it  enjoyed  the  idal  and  advantage 
of  being  the  capital  of  the  Union.  Boston  and  Balti 
more  are  both  seaports  of  extensive  connexions,,  and 
of  great  and  enlightened  enterprise.  Against  this 
serious  competition,  however,  New-York  struggled 
with  success  ;  gradually  obtaining  the  superiority  in 
tonnage  and  inhabitants,  until  within  a  few  years, 
when  opposition  silently  yielded  to  the  force  of  cir 
cumstances,  and  those  towns  which  had  so  long  been 
rivals  became  auxiliaries  to  her  aggrandizement.  All 
this  is  perfectly  in  the  natural  course  of  things,  though 
I  find  that  a  lingering  of  the  ancient  jealousy  still 
tempts  many  of  the  merchants  of  the  other  towns  to 
ascribe  the  ascendancy  of  New- York  to  any  cause 
but  the  right  one.  Among  other  things,  the  establish 
ment  of  those  numerous  lines  of  packets,  to  which  f 
have  alluded  in  a  previous  letter,  is  thought  to  have 
had  an  influence  on  her  progress.  It  appears  to  rne 
that  this  is  mistaking  the  effect  for  the  cause.  If  I 
am  rightly  informed,  the  merchant  of  Boston  already 
sends  his  ship  here  for  freight ;  frequently  sells  his 
cargo  under  the  hammer  of  the  New-York  auctioneer 
to  his  own  neighbour,  and  buys  a  new  one  to  send  to 
to  some  distant  part  of  the  world,  without  seeing, 
from  the  commencement  of  the  year  to  its  close,  the 


CHARACTER  OF  POPULATION GROWTH.          123 

vessel  which  is  the  instrument  of  transporting  his 
wealth  to  the  various  quarters  of  the  world.  Phila- 
delphians  have  been  pointed  out  to  me  who  are  said 
to  be  employed  in  pursuits  of  the  same  nature.  The 
whole  mystery  of  these  transactions  rests  on  a  prin 
ciple  that  is  within  the  compass  of  any  man's  under 
standing.  Though  articles  can  be  and  are  sometimes 
vended  by  itinerants  in  its  streets,  the  material  wants 
of  every  great  town  are  supplied  in  the  common 
market-place.  It  is  easier  to  find  a  purchaser  where 
much  than  where  little  is  sold,  and  it  is  precisely  foi 
the  reason  that  prices  take  a  wider  range  in  an  ex 
tensive  than  in  a  limited  market,  that  men  congre 
gate  there  to  feed  their  wants  or  to  glut  their  avarice. 
That  New-York  must,  in  the  absence  of  any  coun 
teracting  moral  causes,  at  some  day  have  become 
this  chosen  mart  of  American  commerce,  is  suffi 
ciently  evident  by  its  natural  advantages;  and  that 
the  hour  of  this  supremacy  has  arrived  is,  I  think, 
apparent  by  the  facts  which  I  have  mentioned,  sup 
ported  as  they  are  by  the  strong  corroborat;ng  cir 
cumstance,  that  hundreds  are  now  daily  quitting  the 
other  towns  to  resort  to  this. 

The  consequences  of  its  rapid  growth,  and  the 
extraordinary  medley  of  which  its  population  is 
composed,  serve  to  give  something  of  a  peculiar 
character  to  New- York.  Cadwalladcr  tells  me  that, 
with  perhaps  the  exception  of  New-Orleans,  it  is  the 
only  city  in  the  Union  that  has  not  the  air  of  a  pro 
vincial  town.  For  my  own  part,  I  have  found  in  it 
such  a  melange  of  customs,  nations,  society,  and 
manners,  all  tempered,  without  being  destroyed,  by 
the  institutions  and  opinions  of  the  country,  tnat  1 
despair  of  conveying  a  correct  idea  of  either  by  de 
scription.  We  shall  have  more  definite  data  in  speak 
ing  of  its  unprecedented  growth. 

In  1756,  the  city  of  New- York  contained  13,000 
souls;  in  1790,33,000;  in  1800,60,000;  in  1810, 


124    INCREASE REASONS  FOR  A  VARIATION. 

96,000;  in  1820,  123,000;  and,  in  1825,  166,000.* 
The  latter  enumeration  is  exclusive  of  Brooklyn,  a 
flourishing  village  which  has  arisen  within  the  last 
half  dozen  years  from  next  to  nothing;  which, 
from  its  position  and  connexion  with  the  city,  is  in 
truth  no  more  than  a  suburb  differently  governed ; 
and  which  in  itself  contains  about  10,000  souls. 

By  the  foregoing  statement,  you  will  see  that, 
while  the  growth  of  New- York  has  been  rather  reg 
ular  than  otherwise,  its  population  has  doubled  with 
in  the  last  thirty-five  years  nearly  at  the  rate  of  once 
in  fifteen  years.  Between  1 790  and  1 800,  the  com 
parative  increase  was  the  greatest.  This  was  prob 
ably  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  moment  when 
the  peculiar  situation  of  the  world  gave  an  extraor 
dinary  impulse  to  the  American  commerce.  Between 
1800  and  1820,  were  felt  the  effects  of  a  highly 
thriving  trade,  the  re-action  of  embargoes,  non-inter 
course  and  war,  arid  the  relative  stagnation  attendant 
on  the  return  of  business  to  its  more  natural  chan 
nels.  The  extraordinary  increase  in  the  last  five 
years,  during  a  period  of  ordinary  commerce,  is,  1 
think,  to  be  imputed  to  the  accessions  obtained  by 
the  silent  acquiescence  of  her  rivals  in  the  future 
supremacy  of  this  town  as  the  great  mart  of  the  na 
tion.  To  what  height,  or  how  long  this  latter  cause 
may  serve  to  push  the  accumulation  of  New-York 
beyond  what  would  be  its  natural  growth,  exceeds 
my  ability  to  estimate.  Though  it  may  receive 
checks  from  the  variety  of  causes  which  affect  all 
prosperity,  it  will  probably  be  some  years  before  the 
influence  of  this  revolution  in  opinion  shall  entirely 
cease ;  after  which  period,  the  growth  of  the  city 
must  be  more  regular,  though  always  in  proportion 
to  the  infant  vigour  of  the  whole  country. 


*  It  is  supposed  to  contain  about  200,000  at  the  present  moment 


ESTIMATE    OF    FUTURE    SIZE.  12.' 

It  is  a  curious  calculation,  and  one  in  which  tin 
Americans  very  naturally  love  to  indulge,  to  estimate 
the  importance  of  this  place  at  no  very  distant  day 
If  the  rate  of  increase  for  the  last  thirty-five  yeare 
(or  the  whole  period  when  the  present  institutions 
of  the  country  have  had  an  influence  on  its  advance 
ment)  is  to  be  taken  as  a  guide  for  the  future,  the 
city  of  New- York  will  contain  about  900,000  souls 
in  the  year  1860.  Prodigious  as  this  estimate  may 
at  first  seem,  it  can  be  supported  by  arguments  of  a 
weight  and  truth  of  which  you  are  most  probably 
ignorant.  Notwithstanding  the  buoyant  character  of 
this  nation's  prosperity,  and  the  well-known  fact  that 
the  growth  of  towns  is  by  no  means  subject  to  the 
same  general  laws  as  that  of  countries,  were  it  not 
for  one  circumstance,  I  should  scarcely  presume  to 
hazard  a  calculation  which  wears  the  air  of  extrava 
gance  by  its  very  amount,  since,  by  merely  adding 
another  fifteen  years,  you  have  the  largest  town  in 
Christendom  as  the  reward  of  your  addition.  But, 
in  point  of  fact,  in  order  to  keep  pace  with  the  pro 
gress  of  things  in  this  extraordinary  country,  some 
thing  like  that  which  elsewhere  might  be  termed  ex 
travagance  of  anticipation  becomes  absolutely  neces 
sary.  Although  the  ideas  of  my  companion  are 
reasonably  regulated  by  an  extensive  acquaintance 
with  the  eastern  hemisphere,  I  confess  I  have  been 
startled  with  the  entire  gravity  with  which  he  some 
times  speaks  of  the  power  of  the  United  States ; 
not  as  an  event  to  affect  the  fortunes  of  future  ages, 
but  as  a  thing  that  would  be  operative  in  the  time  oi 
our  own  children,  dear  Baron,  had  not  our  egotistical 
habits  left  us  without  the  hope  of  living  in  those 
who  come  after  us.  But  when  he  paused  this  morn 
ing  in  our  promenade  through  the  Broadway,  a  noble 
street  that  runs  for  two  miles  through  the  heart  of 
the  place,  and  pointed  out  the  limits  of  the  city,  as 
he  himself  had  known  them  in  his  boyhood,  and  then 
M2 


J26  IMMENSE    INTERIOR    TRADE. 

desired  me  to  look  along  the  fine  vista  in  front,  which 
I  knew  was  supported  bj  vast  masses  of  buildings 
on  each  of  its  sides,  I  felt  the  force  of  the  reasons 
he  had  for  entertaining  opinions,  that  to  me  had  just 
before  seemed  visionary. 

The  circumstance  to  which  this  town  is  to  be  in 
debted  for  most  of  its  future  greatness,  is  the  im 
mense  and  unprecedented  range  of  interior  which, 
by  a  bold  and  noble  effort  of  policy,  has  recently 
been  made  tributary  to  its  interests.  By  examining 
the  map  of  the  United  States,  you  can  easily  make 
yourself  master  of  all  the  facts  necessary  to  a  perfect 
understanding  of  what  I  mean.  The  river  Hudson 
runs  northward  from  New- York  for  the  distance  of 
about  two  hundred  miles.  Jt  is  navigable  for  large 
sloops  to  Waterford,  a  place  that  is  situated  near  the 
junction  of  the  Mohawk  with  the  former  river,  and 
at  a  distance  a  little  exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  this  city.  Sixty  miles  further  north  brings 
one  to  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain,  which  separates 
Vermont  from  New-York,  and  communicates  with 
the  St.  Lawrence  by  means  of  a  navigable  outlet. 
By  following  the  route  of  the  Mohawk  westward, 
you  pass  directly  through  the  heart  of  this  flourishing 
state,  until  you  reach  a  place  called  Rome,  whence 
the  country  to  Lake  Erie  was  found  to  be  perfectly 
practicable  for  water  communication.  Once  in  Lake 
Erie,  it  is  possible  to  extend  a  domestic  trade,  by 
means  of  those  little  inland,  fresh-water  seas,  through 
a  fertile  and  rapidly  growing  country,  for  a  distance 
of  near  or  quite  fifteen  hundred  miles  further.  As 
if  this  were  not  enough,  Nature  has  placed  the  head 
waters  of  the  Mississippi  so  near  the  navigable  tribu 
taries  of  the  lakes  Michigan,  Superior,  and  Erie,  that 
there  is  nothing  visionary  in  predicting  that  artificial 
communication  will  soon  bring  them  into  absolute 
contact. 


MR.    CLINTON GREAT    CANALS.  127 

It  is  a  matter  of  dispute  with  whom  the  bold  idea 
of  connecting  the  waters  of  the  lakes  with  those  of 
the  Hudson  originated.  The  fact  will  probably  never 
be  known,  since  the  thoughts  of  one  may  have  been 
quickened  by  those  of  another,  the  speculations  of 
each  successor  enlarging  on  those  of  him  who  went 
before,  until  the  plaint  of  some  Indian  that  nature  had 
denied  a  passage  to  his  canoe  from  the  Mohawk  into 
a  stream  of  the  lesser  lakes,  has  probably  given  birth 
to  them  all.  But  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the 
individual,  who,  in  a  government  so  particularly  cau 
tious  of  its  expenditures,  has  dared  to  stake  his  po 
litical  fortunes  on  the  success  of  the  hazardous  under 
taking,  Mr.  Clinton,  the  present  Governor  of  this 
State,  is  the  only  highly  responsible  political  man  who 
can  justly  lay  claim  to  be  the  parent  of  the  project. 
For  many  years,  I  am  told,  he  was  persecuted  as  a 
visionary  projector,  and  it  was  clear  that  his  down 
fall  was  to  be  the  penalty  of  failure;  though  now  that 
success  is  certain,  or  rather  realized,  there  are  hun 
dreds  ready  to  depreciate  his  merits,  and  not  a  few 
willing  to  share  in  all  his  honours.  But  these  are  no 
more  than  the  detractions  which  are  known  every 
where  to  sully  the  brightness  of  a  new  reputation. 
Time  will  remove  them  all,  since  posterity  never 
fails  to  restore  with  interest  that  portion  of  fame 
which  is  temporarily  abstracted  by  the  envy  or  the 
hostility  of  contemporaries. 

The  plan  has  been  to  reject  the  use  of  all  the 
rivers,  except  as  feeders,  and  to  make  two  canals, 
one  from  the  Lake  Champlain,  and  the  other  from 
the  Lake  Erie,  which  were  to  meet  at  the  junction 
of  the  Mohawk  and  the  Hudson,  whence  they  are  to 
proceed  to  Albany,  and  issue  into  the  latter  river. 
The  former  of  these  canals  is  about  sixty  miles  in 
length,  and  the  other  three  hundred  and  fifty.  The 


128  A   CASE. 

work  was  cc  mmenced  in  the  year  1 81 7,  and  is  already 
nearly  completed.* 

Really,  reflection  on  this  subject  is  likely  to  de 
range  the  ideas  of  the  gravest  man.  Imagine,  foi 
instance,  that  Africa  were  a  populous  and  civilized 
region;  that  Spain  were  peopled  by  an  active  and 
enlightened  population;  that  their  habits  were  highly 
commercial ;  and  then  assume  that  Gibraltar  was  not 
only  one  of  the  most  noble,  convenient  and  safe  ha 
vens  of  the  world,  but  that,  from  its  central  position, 
it  had  secured  an  ascendancy  in  European  trade 
Remove  all  serious  rivals  which  chance  or  industry 
had  raised  in  the  other  parts  of  Europe,  to  the  pros 
perity  of  this  unrivalled  mart,  placing  it  already  fore 
most  among  the  cities  of  our  hemisphere.  Then, 
suppose  the  Mediterranean,  with  all  its  tributaries,  a 
narrow,  convenient  river,  having  direct  communica 
tion  with  vast  lakes,  whose  banks  were  peopled  by 
men  of  similar  educations  and  opinions,  wants  and 
wishes,  governed  by  the  same  policy,  and  subject  to 
the  same  general  laws,  and  I  commit  you  to  your 
own  imaginative  powers  to  fancy  what  the  place 
would  become  in  the  space  of  a  century. 

With  these  views  unavoidably  before  the  eye,  it  is 
difficult  to  descend  to  the  sober  reality  of  existing 
things.  1  can  now  easily  understand  the  perspective 
of  American  character.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
destroy  thought,  to  repress  it.  I  fear  we  owe  a  good 


*1828.  It  is  now  not  only  finished,  but  is  so  eminently  suc 
cessful,  that  it  has  given  rise  to  a  multitude  of  similar  works, 
one  of  which,  to  connect  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  with  Lake  Erie, 
is  already  far  advanced,  and  will  open  an  inland  water  commu 
nication  between  New-York  and  New-Orleans,  a  distance  of 
more  than  2000  miles.  The  tolls  on  the  Erie  canal  amounted 
the  last  year  (1827)  to  850,000  dollars,  leaving  a  large  surplus, 
after  paying  the  interest  en  the  money  borrowed  for  its  constrxiCf- 
tion,  and  ail  charges  of  repairs,  &c.  &c. 


HOUSES — THEIR  MODERN    CONSTRUCTION.         12S 

deal  of  our  exemption  from  the  quality  we  laugh  at, 
to  the  same  penetrating  faculty  of  the  mind.  A 
state  of  things  may  easily  exist,  in  which  it  is  quite 
as  pleasant  to  look  back  as  forward ;  but  here,  though 
the  brief  retrospect  be  so  creditable,  it  absolutely 
sinks  into  insignificance  compared  with  the  mighty 
future.  These  people  have  clearly  only  to  continue 
discreet,  to  be  foremost  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  and  that  too,  most  probably,  before  the  discus 
sion  as  to  their  future  fate  shall  be  forgotten. 

While  a  subject  so  great  is  intensely  pressing  itself 
on  the  mind,  as  it  unavoidably  must  on  that  of  every 
intelligent  stranger  who  has  sufficient  philanthropy 
to  regard  with  steadiness  the  prosperity  of  a  people 
who  may  so  soon  be  a  formidable  rival,  it  is  difficult 
to  descend  to  those  more  immaterial  and  evanescent 
customs  and  appearances  that  mark  the  condition  of 
the  present  hour.  Still  they  are  of  importance  as 
they  may  influence  the  future,  and  are  not  without 
interest  by  their  peculiarities  and  national  charac 
teristics. 

In  construction,  New- York  embraces  every  variety 
of  house,  between  that  of  the  second-rate  English 
town-residence,  and  those  temporary  wooden  tene 
ments  that  are  seen  in  the  skirts  of  most  large  cities. 
I  do  not  think,  however,  that  those  absolutely  miser 
able,  filthy  abodes  which  are  often  seen  in  Europe, 
abound  here.  The  houses  of  the  poor  are  not  indeed 
large,  like  those  in  which  families  on  the  continent  are 
piled  on  one  another  for  six  or  seven  stories,  but  they 
are  rarely  old  and  tottering ;  for  the  growth  of  the 
place,  which,  by  its  insular  situation,  is  confined  to 
one  direction,  forces  them  out  of  existence  before 
they  have  had  time  to  decay.  .  1  have  been  told,  and 
I  think  it  probable,  that  there  are  not  five  hundred 
buildings  in  New- York,  that  can  date  further  back 
than  the  peace  of  '83  A  few  old  Dutch  dwellings 
yet  remain,  and  can  easily  be  distinguished  by  their 


130  PECULIARITY  OF  APPEARANCE. 

little  bricks,  their  gables  to  tbe  street,  and  those  steps 
on  their  battlement  walls,  which  jour,  countrymen  are 
said  to  have  invented,  in  order  to  ascend  to  regulate 
the  iron  weathercocks  at  every  variation  of  the  fickle 
winds. 

Although  poverty  has  no  permanent  abode,  yet 
New- York  has  its  distinct  quarters.  I  think  they  are 
sufficiently  known  and  understood.  Commerce  is 
gradually  taking  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  lower 
extremity  of  the  island,  though  the  bay,  the  battery, 
and  the  charming  Broadway,  still  cause  many  of  the 
affluent  to  depart  with  reluctance.  The  fashion  of 
the  place  is  gradually  collecting  on  the  highest  and 
healthiest  point  of  land,  where  its  votaries  may  be 
equally  removed  from  the  bustle  of  the  two  rivers 
(for  the  strait  is  strangely  enough  called  a  river), 
while  other  portions  are  devoted  to  the  labouring 
classes,  manufacturers,  and  the  thousand  pursuits  of  a 
seaport. 

In  outward  appearance,  New- York,  but  for  two 
things,  would  resemble  a  part  of  London  that  should 
include  fair  proportions  of  Westminster  (without  the 
sjreat  houses  and  recent  improvements),  the  city,  and 
\Vapping.  The  points  of  difference  are  owing  to  the 
fact  that,  probably  without  an  exception,  the  exterior 
of  all  the  houses  are  painted,  anc1  that  there  is  scarce 
a  street  in  the  place  which  is  not  more  or  less  lined 
with  trees.  The  former  fashion,  unquestionably  de 
rived  from  your  countrymen,  gives  the  town  a  lively 
and  cheerful  air,  for  which  I  was  a  long  time  puzzled 
to  account.  At  first  I  imputed  it  to  the  brightness  of 
the  atmosphere,  which  differs  but  little  from  that  of 
Italy  ;  and  then  I  thought  it  might  be  owing  to  the 
general  animation  and  life  that  pervaded  all  the  prin 
cipal  streets.  Cadwallader  explained  the  causes,  and 
added,  that  the  custom  was  nearly  peculiar  (with  the 
exception  of  wooden  buildings)  to  the  towns  in  the 
ancient  colony  of  the  United  Provinces.  The  com 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS CITY    HALL.  131 

mon  practice  is  to  deepen  the  colour  of  the  hricks  by  a 
red  paint,  and  then  to  interline  them  with  white  ;  a 
fashion,  that  scarcely  alters  their  original  appearance, 
except  by  imparting  a  neatness  and  freshness  that  are 
exceedingly  pleasant.  But,  in  na&ny  instances,  I  saw 
dwellings  of  a  lively  cream  colour;  and  there  are  also 
several  varieties  of  stone  that  seem  to  be  getting  much 
in  use  latterly. 

The  principal  edifice  is  the  City  Hall,  a  building  in 
which  the  courts  are  held,  the  city  authorities  assem 
ble,  and  the  public  offices  are  kept  This  building  is 
oddly  enough  composed  of  two  sorts  of  stone,  which 
impairs  its  simplicity,  and  gives  it  a  patched  and  party- 
coloured  appearance.  Neither  is  its  facade  in  good 
taste,  being  too  much  in  detail,  a  fault  the  ancients 
were  not  fond  of  committing.  Notwithstanding  these 
glaring  defects,  by  aid  of  its  material,  a  clear  white 
marble,  and  the  admirable  atmosphere,  it  at  first 
strikes  one  more  agreeably  than  many  a  better  edifice. 
Its  rear  is  of  a  deep  red,  dullish  freestone,  and  in  a  far 
better  taste.  It  is  not  unlike  the  facade  of  the  Hotel 
des  Monnaics  at  Paris  ;  though  not  quite  so  large, 
more  wrought,  and  I  think  something  handsomer. 

The  moment  the  rear  of  the  City  Hall  was  seen,  I 
was  struck  with  an  impression  of  the  magnificent 
effect  which  might  be  produced  by  the  use  of  its 
material  in  Gothic  architecture.  It  seems  to  me  to  be 
the  precise  colour  that  good  taste  would  select  for  the 
style,  and  the  stone  possesses  the  advantage  of  being 
easily  worked,  and  is  far  less  fragile  than  the  common 
building  materials  of  the  vicinity  of  Paris.  While  the 
modern  Gothic  is  much  condemned,  every  body 
appears  willing  to  admit  that  it  is  the  most  imposing 
style  for  churches.  I  can  see  no  reason  why  that 
which  every  body  likes  should  not  be  done ;  and 
nothing  is  easier  than  to  omit  those  horrible  images 
and  excrescences  which  we  should  not  tolerate  in 
the  finest  cathedrals  of  Europe,  if  they  did  not  fur- 


132  LIBERALITY  OF  RELIGIOUS  SECTS. 

ttish  unequivocal  evidences  of  the  humours  of  the  age 
in  which  they  were  carved. 

New-York  is  rich  in  churches,  if  number  alone  be 
considered.  I  saw  more  than  a  dozen  in  the  process 
of  construction,  and  there  is  scarce  a  street  of  any 
magnitude  that  does  not  possess  one.  There  must  be 
at  least  a  hundred,  and  there  may  be  many  more. 
But  in  a  country  where  the  state  does  not  meddle 
with  religion,  one  is  not  to  look  for  much  splendour 
in  its  religious  edifices.  Private  munificence  cannot 
equal  the  expenditures  of  a  community.  Besides,  I 
am  told  it  is  a  laudable  practice  of  the  rich  in  this 
country,  instead  of  concentrating  their  efforts  to  rear 
up  one  magnificent  monument  of  their  liberality,  to 
bestow  sufficient  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  particular 
parish  in  a  style  suited  to  its  character,  and  then  to 
give,  freely,  aid  to  some  other  congregation  of  their 
faith  that  may  be  struggling  into  existence,  perhaps, 
in  a  distant  part  of  the  country.  Indeed,  instances 
are  said  to  be  frequent,  in  which  affluent  men  con 
tribute  cheerfully  and  liberally  to  assist  in  the  erec 
tion  of  churches  of  a  persuasion  different  from  their 
own.  You  are  to  recollect  that  a  territory  large  as  a 
third  of  Europe,  has  to  be  furnished  with  places  of 
worship  by  a  population  which  does  not  exceed  that 
of  Prussia,  and  that  too  by  voluntary  contributions. 
In  estimating  what  has  been  done  in  America  in  all 
things,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  do  justice,  and  fo? 
a  right  understanding  of  the  case,  to  remember  the 
time,  the  means,  and  the  amount  that  was  to  be  execut 
ed.  An  honest  consideration  of  these  material  points 
can  alone  show  the  true  character  of  the  country 
For  my  own  part,  when  I  reflect  on  the  extended 
division  of  the  inhabitants,  arid  on  the  absolute  neces 
sity  of  so  much  of  their  efforts  being  expended  in- 
meeting  the  first  wants  of  civilized  life,  I  am  astonish 
ed  to  find  how  much  they  have  done  to  embellish  and 
improve  it  Under  this  view  of  the  subject,  though 


CHURCHES TASTE RELIGION.  133 

certainly  under  no  other,  even  their  works  of  art  be 
come  highly  respectable.  There  is  not  much  preten 
sion  to  good  taste  in  a  great  majority  of  their  public 
edifices,  nor  is  there  much  more  ground  to  claim  it 
in  any  other  country,  so  far  as  modern  architecture  is 
concerned.  Most  of  the  churches  in  New-York  are 
of  brick,  and  constructed,  internally,  with  direct  re 
ference  to  the  comfort  of  the  congregations,  who,  as 
you  know,  in  most  Protestant  countries,  remain  when 
they  once  enter  the  temple.  There  are,  however, 
some  churches  in  this  city  that  would  make  a  credit 
able  appearance  any  where  among  similar  modern 
constructions ;  but  it  is  in  the  number,  rather  than 
in  the  elegance  of  these  buildings,  that  the  Americans 
have  reason  to  pride  themselves. 

Whatever  you  may  have  heard  concerning  neglect 
of  religion  on  this  side  of  the  water,  so  far  as  the 
portion  of  the  country  I  have  seen  is  concerned,  dis 
believe.  It  is  the  language  of  malice  and  not  of  truth. 
So  far  as  the  human  eye  can  judge,  there  is  at  least  as 
much  respect  paid  to  religion  in  the  northern  and 
middle  States,  as  in  any  part  of  the  world  I  have  ever 
visited.  Were  the  religion  of  Europe  to  be  stripped 
of  its  externals,  and  to  lose  that  deference  which  the 
influence  of  the  state  and  of  the  clergy  produces, 
among  a  poor  who  are  so  dependant ;  in  short,  were 
man  left  to  himself,  or  subject  only  to  the  impulses 
of  public  opinion,  and  the  influence  of  voluntary  in 
struction,  as  here,  I  am  persuaded  it  would  be  found 
that  there  is  vastly  more.  There  is  much  cant,  and 
much  abuse  of  cant,  in  America,  just  as  elsewhese ; 
but  I  have  been  in  numberless  churches  here-,  watched 
the  people  in  their  ingress  and  egress ;  have  examined 
the  crowd  of  men  no  less  than  of  women,  that  followed 
the  summons  of  the  parish  bell ;  and,  in  fine,  have 
studied  all  their  habits  on  those  points  which  the  con 
science  maybe  supposed  to  influence,  and, taking  town 
and  country  together,  I  should  not  know  where  to  turn 


134  APPARENT  ATTENTION  TO  RELIGION. 

to  find  a  population  more  uniform  in  their  devotions, 
more  guarded  in  their  discourse,  or  more  consistent 
in  all  their  practices.  No  stronger  proof  can  be  given 
of  the  tone  of  the  country  in  respect  to  religion  than 
the  fact,  that  men  who  wish  to  stand  well  in  popular 
favour  are  compelled  to  feign  it  at  least;  publis 
opinion  producing,  in  this  way,  a  far  more  manifest 
effect  here  than  does  state  policy  in  our  hemisphere. 
These  remarks  are  of  course  only  made  in  reference 
to  what  I  have  yet  seen,  but  they  may  serve  as  a 
standard  to  compare  by,  when  we  shall  come  to 
speak  of  the  other  portions  of  the  republic. 

My  paper  is  exhausted,  and  I  shall  refer  you  to 
the  colonel,  whom  I  know  you  are  to  meet  at  Pa 
lermo,  for  a  continuation  of  the  subject  on  some  of 
those  branches  in  which  his  nicer  tact  may  find 
peculiar  sources  of  interest. — Adieu. 


TO  THE  COUNT  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 

COLONEL  EN  RETRAITE  OF  THE  IMPERIAL  GUARD. 


New- York, 

A  MAN  who  has  revelled  so  often  on  the  delicacies 
of  Very  and  Robert ;  who  has  so  long  flourished  with 
eclat  in  the  saloons  of  the  modern  queen  of  cities ; 
who  has  sickened  his  taste  under  the  arches  of  the 
Coliseum,  or  on  the  heights  of  the  Acropolis,  and  who 
must  have  often  cast  a  glance  at  that  jewel  of  archi 
tecture,  the  Bourse  of  Paris,  as  he  has  hurried  into 
its  din  to  learn  the  fate  of  his  last  investment  in  the 
three  per  cents  of  M.  de  Villele,  may  possibly  turn 
with  disdain  from  a  description  of  the  inartificial 
beauties  of  nature,  a  republican  drawing-room,  or  a 


POPULATION    OF    NEW-?ORK.  135 

mall  in  a  commercial  town  of  North  America.  But 
you  will  remember  how  often  I  have  passed  the  bridge 
of  Lodi  in  your  company,  (methinks  I  hear  the  whiz 
zing  of  the  bullets  now  !)  how  patiently  I  have  listen 
ed  to  your  sonnets  on  the  mien  and  mind  of  Sophie, 
and  how  meekly  I  have  seen  you  discussing  the  frag 
ments  of  a  pate  de  foie  gras,  without  so  much  as 
begrudging  you  a  mouthful  of  the  unctuous  morsel, 
though  it  were  even  the  last.  Presuming  on  this 
often  tried,  and  seemingly  inexhaustible  patience,  I 
shall  proceed  to  trespass  on  your  more  elevated  pur 
suits  in  the  shape  of  one  of  my  desultory  accounts  of 
the  manners  and  mode  of  life  of  the  grave  burghers 
of  New-York. 

I  may  say  openly  to  you,  what  consideration  for 
the  national  pride  of  Kemperfelt  may  have  suppressed 
in  my  letters  to  him,  that  very  little  of  its  former 
usages  can  now  be  traced  in  the  ancient  capital  of 
the  New-Netherlands.  One  hears  certain  sonorous 
names  in  the  streets  to  remind  him  of  the  original 
colony,  it  is  true,  but  with  these  rare  memorials  of 
the  fact,  and  a  few  angular,  sidelong  edifices,  that 
resemble  broken  fragments  of  prismatic  ice,  there  is 
no  other  passing  evidence  of  its  former  existence.  I 
have  elsewhere  said  that  the  city  of  New- York  is 
composed  of  inhabitants  from  all  the  countries  of 
Christendom.  Beyond  a  doubt,  a  very  large  major 
ity,  perhaps  nine-tenths,  are  natives  of  the  United 
States  ;  but  it  is  not  probable  that  one-third  who  live 
here  first  saw  the  light  on  the  island  of  Manhattan. 
It  is  computed  that  one  in  three  are  either  natives 
of  New-England,  or  are  descendants  of  those  who 
have  emigrated  from  that  portion  of  the  country. 
To  these  must  be  added  the  successors  of  the  Dutch, 
the  English,  the  French,  the  Scotch  and  the  Irish, 
arid  not  a  few  who  came  in  their  proper  persons  from 
the  countries  occupied  by  these  several  nations.  In 
the  midst  of  such  a  melange  of  customs  and  people, 


136         INFLUENCE  OF  THE  YANKEES MARKETS 

it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  extract  any  thing  like  a 
definite  general  character.  Perhaps  there  is  none 
that  can  be  given,  without  great  allowance,  to  this 
community.  Though  somewhat  softened,  a  good 
deal  of  that  which  is  distinctive  between  the  puritans 
and  their  brethren  of  the  other  States,  is  said  to  con 
tinue  to  exist  for  a  long  period  after  their  emigration, 
As  the  former  generally  go  to  those  points  where 
they  are  tempted  by  interest,  in  great  numbers,  it  is 
probable  that  they  communicate  quite  as  much,  or, 
considering  their  active  habits,  perhaps  more,  of 
character,  than  they  receive.  With  these  warnings, 
to  take  all  I  say  with  due  allowance,  I  shall  proceed 
to  my  task. 

To  commence  ab  origine,  I  shall  speak  of  the  pro 
ducts  of  nature,  which,  if  endowed  with  suitable  ca 
pabilities,  rarely  fail  of  favour  in  your  eyes.  I  know 
no  spot  of  the  habitable  world  to  which  the  culinary 
sceptre  is  so  likely  to  be  transferred,  when  the  art 
shall  begin  to  decline  in  your  own  renowned  capital, 
as  this  city.  It  is  difficult  to  name  fish,  fowl,  or  beast 
that  is  not,  either  in  its  proper  person,  or  in  some 
species  nearly  allied  to  it,  to  be  obtained  in  the  mar 
kets  of  New- York.  The  exceptions  that  do  certainly 
occur,  are  more  than  balanced  by  the  animals  that 
are  peculiar  to  the  country.  Of  fish  alone,  a  gentle 
man  here,  of  a  spirit  not  uncongenial  to  your  own, 
has  named  between  seventy  and  eighty  varieties,  all 
of  which  are  edible ;  most  of  which  are  excellent ; 
and  some  of  which  it  would  be  the  pride  of  my  heart 
to  see  placed  within  the  control  of  your  scientific 
skill.  Of  fowls  there  is  a  rare  and  admirable  collec 
tion  !  I  have  had  a  list  nearly,  or  quite  as  long  as  the 
catalogue  of  fishes  placed  before  me,  and  it  would  do 
your  digestive  powers  good  to  hear  some  of  the  semi' 
barbarous  epicures  of  this  provincial  town  expatiate 
on  the  merits  of  grouse,  canvas-backs,  brants,  plover, 
wild  turkeys,  and  all  the  et  cceteras  of  the  collection. 


FOWL,    GAME,    FRUITS,    ETC.  137 

in  respect  to  the  more  vulgar  products  of  regular 
agriculture  I  shall  say  nothing.  They  are  to  be  found 
here,  as  elsewhere,  with  the  exception,  that,  as  a 
great  deal  is  still  left  to  nature,  perfection  and  variety 
in  vegetables  is  not  as  much  attended  to  as  in  the  vi 
cinity  of  older  and  larger  places.  But  of  the  game  I 
may  speak  with  confidence ;  for,  little  as  I  have  yet 
seen  of  it,  at  this  particular  season,  one  mouthful  is 
sufficient  to  prove  that  there  is  a  difference  between 
a  partridge  and  a  hen,  greater  than  what  is  demon 
strated  by  the  simple  fact  that  one  sleeps  on  a  roost, 
and  the  other  in  a  tree.  That  delicious,  wild,  and 
peculiar  flavour,  that  we  learned  to  prize  on  the 
frontiers  of  Poland,  and  in  the  woods  of  Norway,  ex 
ists  in  every  thing  that  ranges  the  American  forest. 
They  tell  me  that  so  very  dependent  is  the  animal  on 
the  food  it  eats  for  its  flavour,  that  the  canvas-back 
of  the  Hudson,  which,  in  the  eyes  of  M.  de  BufFon, 
would  be  precisely  the  same  bird  as  that  of  the  Ches 
apeake,  is  in  truth  endowed  with  another  nature ;  that 
is  to  say,  in  all  those  useful  purposes  for  which  a 
canvas-back  was  beyond  a  doubt  created.  But  these 
are  still  matters  of  faith  with  me,  though  the  delicacy 
of  the  plover,  the  black-fish,  the  sheep's-head,  the 
woodcock,  and  numberless  other  delightful  inhabitants 
of  these  regions,  disposes  me  to  believe  all  I  hear. 

Of  the  fruits  I  can  speak  of  my  own  knowledge. 
The  situation  of  New- York  is  singularly  felicitous  in 
this  respect.  In  consequence  of  the  great  range  of 
the  thermometer,  there  is  scarce  a  fruit  which  will 
endure  the  frost  that  is  not  found  in  a  state  nearly 
approaching  to  perfection.  Indeed,  either  owing  to 
the  freshness  of  the  soil,  or  the  genial  influence  of  the 
sun,  or  to  both,  there  is  an  extraordinary  flavour  im 
parted  to  most  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  food  which 
I  have  tasted.  Cadwallader  reasons  on  the  subject 
in  this  manner,  assuming,  what  I  believe  to  be  true, 
that  most  of  the  meats,  no  less  than  the  fruits,  possess 
N  2 


138    INFLUENCE  OF  THE  SUN  ON  THE  PLANTS. 

this  peculiar  richness  and  delicacy  of  taste.  He  says, 
that  in  Europe  the  value  of  land  is  commonly  so  great, 
that  the  cattle  are  obliged  to  crop  all  the  herbage, 
whereas,  in  America,  the  animal  is  usually  allowed  to 
make  its  choice,  and  that,  too,  often  amid  such  a  de« 
licious  odour  of  the  white  or  natural  clover  of  the 
country,  as  might  cause  even  a  miserable  victim  of 
the  anger  of  Djezzar  Pacha  momentarily  to  forget  his 
nasal  dilapidation.  I  wish  now  to  be  understood  as 
speaking  literally,  and  not  in  those  terms  of  exaggera 
tion  which  are  perhaps  appropriate  to  the  glories  of 
a  well-ordered  banquet.  I  scarce  remember  any  fra 
grance  equal  to  that  I  have  scented  in  the  midst  of  a 
field  of  this  clover.  My  companion  tells  me  he  was 
first  made  sensible  of  this  peculiarity  in  the  herbage 
of  his  native  country,  by  remarking  how  comparatively 
devoid  of  scent  was  a  field  of  buckwheat,  by  the  side 
of  which  he  was  once  walking  in  the  centre  of  France. 
Now,  buckwheat  in  this  climate  is  a  plant  that  exhales 
a  delicious  odour  that  is  often  to  be  scented  at  the 
distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  In  short,  so  far  as 
my  own  observation  has  extended,  the  sun  imparts  a 
flavour  to  every  grass,  plant,  or  fruit  here,  that  must 
be  tasted,  and  tasted  with  discrimination,  in  order  to  be 
appreciated.  Yet  man  has  done  but  little  to  improve 
these  inestimable  advantages.  There  is  no  extraordi 
nary  show  of  fruits  in  the  public  market-places. 
Peaches,  cherries,  melons,  and  a  few  others  of  the 
common  sorts,  it  is  true,  abound ;  but  the  Americans 
appear  not  to  be  disposed  to  make  much  sacrifice  of 
time,  or  money,  to  the  cultivation  of  the  rarer  sorts. 
I  cannot  close  this  subject,  however,  without  mak 
ing  one  remark  on  the  nature  of  a  peculiar  difference 
that  I  have  noticed  between  the  fruits  of  this  country, 
and  those  of  your  own  capital  in  particular.  A 
French  peach  is  juicy,  and,  when  you  first  bring  it  in 
contact  with  your  palate,  sweet,  but  it  leaves  behind 
it  a  cold,  watery,  and  almost  sour  taste.  It  is  for  this 


DELICACY  OF  MELONS  AND  PEACHES.      139 

reason  so  often  eaten  with  sugar.  An  American  is 
exceedingly  apt  to  laugh  if  he  sees  ripe  fruit  of  any 
sort  eaten  with  any  thing  sweet.  The  peaches  here 
leave  behind  a  warm,  rich,  and  delicious  taste,  that 
I  can  only  liken  in  its  effects  to  that  which  you 
call  the  bouquet  of  a  glass  of  Romance.  You  who, 
as  a  Parisian,  say  so  much  for,  and  think  so  much  of, 
your  gout,  may  be  disposed  to  be  incredulous  when 
I  tell  you  these  people  would  positively  reject  the 
best  melon  that  ever  appears  on  your  table.  There 
is  a  little  one  to  be  picked  up  in  the  markets  here 
for  a  few  sous,  say  twelve  at  the  utmost,  that  exceeds 
any  thing,  of  its  kind,  that  I  have  ever  admitted  into 
the  sanctuary  of  my  mouth.  I  want  terms  to  describe 
it.  It  is  firm,  and  yet  tender;  juicy,  without  a  particle 
of  the  cold,  watery  taste  we  know,  and  of  an  incom 
parable  flavour  and  sweetness.  Its  equal  can  only 
be  found  in  the  Crimea,  or  the  adjacent  parts  of 
Turkey,  and  perhaps  of  Persia.  The  Americans 
admit  that  it  is  the  only  melon  that  can  appear  on  the 
table  of  one  who  understands  the  difference  between 
eating  and  tasting,  and  to  me  it  seems  to  have  been 
especially  created  for  an  epicure.  In  the  gardens  of 
the  gentlemen  you  find  not  only  a  greater  variety, 
but,  a  few  common  fruits  excepted,  a  far  better 
quality  than  in  the  markets.  I  have  tasted  a  great 
many  old  acquaintances,  transplanted  from  the  eastern 
to  the  western  hemisphere,  and  I  declare  I  do  not 
remember  one  that  has  not  been  benefited  by  the 
change,  in  flavour,  though  not  always  in  appearance. 
It  is  a  standing  joke  of  Cadwallader  to  say  his  coun 
trymen  consult  the  substance  much  more  than  the 
shadow,  when  I  venture  to  qualify  my  praises  by 
some  remark  on  externals.  I  remember,  however, 
one  day  he  effectually  silenced  my  criticism,  by  lead 
ing  me  to  a  peach-tree  that  grew  in  the  shade  of  an 
adjacent  building.  The  fruit  was  beautiful,  exceed 
ingly  large,  and  without  a  blemish.  Culling  one  of 


140         PECULIARITY  OF  CLIMATE,  APPLES,  ETC. 

the  finest,  I  bit  it,  and  involuntarily  rejected  vthat  I 
had  so  incautiously  admitted  to  my  mouth.  Then 
placing  a  peach  which  had  grown  in  the  open  air,  in 
my  hands,  my  companion  pointed  significantly  to  the 
sun,  and  walked  on,  leaving  me  to  reflect  on  an  ar 
gument  that  was  more  potent  than  a  thousand  words. 

And  yet  I  have  met,  during  my  short  residence  in 
America,  Europeans  who  have  affected  to  rail  at,  or 
even  to  deny  the  existence  of  her  fruits !  I  have  always 
wished,  on  such  occasions,  that  I  could  transport  the 
products  of  one  of  the  laboured  gardens  of  our  hemi 
sphere  into  this,  and  set  them  to  culling  without  a 
knowledge  of  the  transfer.  My  life  on  it,  their  own 
palates  would  contradict  their  assertions  in  the  first 
five  minutes. 

Indeed,  one  has  only  to  remember  that  the  United 
States  extend  from  forty-five  to  twenty-five  degrees 
of  latitude,  to  see  that  Nature  has  placed  their  do 
minions  in  the  very  centre  of  her  most  favoured  re 
gions.  There  is,  too,  a  peculiarity  of  climate  here, 
which  is  unknown  to  similar  parallels  of  latitude  in 
Europe.  The  apple  and  the  peach  are  found  in  per 
fection,  side  by  side  ;  and  in  such  a  perfection  too,  as, 
believe  me,  dear  colonel,  you  must  seek  for  the  equal 
of  the  one  in  Italy,  and  that  of  the  other,  I  scarcely 
know  where. 

Owing  to  the  facility  and  constancy  of  intercourse 
with  the  Southern  States,  the  fruits  of  the  tropics  ai  e 
found  here,  not  quite  as  fresh,  certainly,  as  when  first 
culled  from  the  plant  itself,  but  well  flavoured,  and 
in  absolute  contact  with  the  products  of  the  temperate 
zones.  Pine-apples,  large,  rich,  golden,  and  good, 
are  sold  from  twelve  to  twenty-five  sous ;  delicious 
oranges  are  hawked  in  the  streets  much  cheaper  than 
a  tolerable  apple  can  be  bought  in  the  shops  of  Paris, 
and  bannanas,  yams,  water-melons,  &c.,  are  as  com 
mon  as  need  be  in  the  markets.  It  is  this  extraor 
dinary  combination  of  the  elfects  of  different  climates 


STYLE  OF  LIVING ENGLISH  COMFORT.          141 

the  union  of  heat  and  cold,  and  of  commercial  facil 
ities,  added  to  the  rare  bounties  of  Nature,  that  incline 
me  to  think  the  empire  of  gastronomy  will,  sooner  or 
later,  be  transferred  to  this  spot.  At  present  it  must 
be  confessed  that  the  science  is  lamentably  defective, 
and,  after  all,  perhaps,  it  is  in  those  places  where 
Nature  has  been  most  liberal  that  man  is  apt  to  con 
tent  himself,  without  exerting  those  efforts  of  his  own, 
without  which  no  perfect  enjoyment  in  any  branch 
of  human  indulgence  can  exist. 

Passing  from  the  means  of  gratification  possessed 
by  these  people,  we  will  turn  our  attention,  for  a 
moment,  to  the  manner  in  which  they  are  improved. 
The  style  of  living  of  all  the  Americans,  in  the 
Northern  States,  is  essentially  English.  As  might 
be  expected  in  a  country  where  labour  is  compara 
tively  high,  and  the  fortunes,  though  great,  still  not 
often  so  princely  as  in  the  mother  country,  the  upper 
classes  live  in  a  more  simple  form,  wanting  some  of 
the  most  refined  improvements  of  high  English  life, 
and  yet  indulging,  under  favour  of  their  climate,  sit 
uation  and  great  commercial  freedom,  in  perhaps  a 
greater  combination  of  luxury  and  comfort  than  any 
other  people  of  the  world.  In  respect  of  comfort 
itself,  there  is  scarce  any  known  in  England,  that  is 
not  to  be  found  here  ;  the  point  of  difference  is  in  its 
frequency.  You  are,  therefore,  to  deduct  rather  in 
the  amount  of  English  comfort,  than  in  its  quality 
and  you  are  not  to  descend  far  below  the  refinements 
at  all,  since  all  the  substantial  of  that  comfort  which 
makes  England  so  remarkable  in  Europe,  are  to  be 
found  equally  in  America.  There  are  points,  per 
haps,  even  in  the  latter,  in  which  the  Englishman 
(rarely  very  much  disposed  to  complacency)  would 
complain  in  America;  and  there  are,  certainly,  others, 
on  which  the  American  (who  has  a  cast  of  the  fam 
ily  likeness)  would  boldly  vent  his  spleen  in  England. 
I  am  of  opinion  the  two  nations  might  benefit  a  good 


142  CONDITION  Or  PEOPLE 

deal  by  a  critical  examination  of  each  other.  Indeed, 
I  think  the  American  has,  and  does,  daily  profit  by 
his  observation,  though  I  scarce  know  whether  his 
kinsman  is  yet  disposed  to  admit  that  he  can  learn 
by  the  study  of  a  people  so  new,  so  remote,  and  so 
little  known,  as  those  of  the  United  States. 

After  you  descend  below  the  middle  classes  in  so 
ciety,  there  is  no  comparison  to  be  drawn  between 
the  condition  of  the  American  and  that  of  the  native 
of  England,  or  of  any  other  place.  I  have  seen 
misery  here,  it  is  true,  and  filth,  and  squalid,  abject 
poverty,  always  in  the  cities,  however;  but  it  is 
rare ;  that  is,  rare  indeed  to  what  I  have  been  ac 
customed  to  see  in  Europe.  At  first,  I  confess  there 
was  a  feeling  of  disappointment  came  over  me  at 
seeing  it  at  all ;  but  reflection  convinced  me  of  the 
impossibility  of  literally  bringing  all  men  to  a  state 
in  which  they  might  profit  by  the  advantages  of  their 
condition.  Cadwallader,  also,  who  has  a  silent,  sig 
nificant  manner  of  conveying  truths,  has  undeceived 
me  more  than  once  when  I  have  been  on  the  very 
threshold  of  an  error.  I  remember  that  one  day, 
while  I  stood  contemplating,  in  the  suburbs  of  this 
city,  a  scene  of  misery  that  one  might  not  have  ex 
pected  to  witness  out  of  Europe,  he  advanced  to  the 
door  of  the  dreary  hovel  I  gazed  at,  and  asked  the  in 
habitants  how  long  they  had  resided  in  America.  The 
answer  proved  that  he  had  not  deceived  himself  as 
to  the  birth-place  of  its  luckless  tenants.  In  this 
manner,  in  more  than  a  dozen  instances,  he  has 
proved  that  his  own  country  has  not  given  birth  to 
the  vice  and  idleness  which  here  could  alone  entail 
such  want.  In  perhaps  as  many  more  instances  he 
has  passed  on,  shaking  his  head  at  my  request  that  he 
would  examine  the  causes,  admitting  frankly  that  he 
saw  the  subjects  were  natives.  It  is  astonishing  how 
accurate  his  eye  is  in  making  this  distinction.  I  do 
not  know  that  he  has  been  deceived  in  a  solitarv  in- 


ANECDOTE NEATNESS.  143 

stance.  Where  misery  is  so  rare,  it  is  a  vast  deal 
to  admit,  that  perhaps  half  of  its  objects  are  the  vic 
tims  of  a  different  system  than  that  under  which  it  is 
exhibited.* 

There  is  something  exceedingly  attractive  in  the 
exhibition  of  neatness  and  domestic  comfort  which 
one  sees  throughout  this  country.  I  think  the  bril 
liancy  of  the  climate,  the  freshness  of  the  paint,  and 
the  exterior  ornaments  of  the  houses,  contribute  to 
the  charm.  There  is  a  species  of  second-rate,  gen 
teel  houses,  that  abound  in  New-York,  into  which  I 
have  looked  when  passing,  with  the  utmost  pleasure. 
They  have,  as  usual,  a  story  that  is  half  sunk  m  the 
earth,  receiving  light  from  an  area,  and  two  floors 
above.  The  tenants  of  these  buildings  are  chiefly 
merchants,  or  professional  men,  in  moderate  circum 
stances,  who  pay  rents  of  from  300  to  500  dollars  a 
year.  You  know  that  no  American,  who  is  at  all 
comfortable  in  life,  will  share  his  dwelling  with  an 
other.  Each  has  his  own  roof,  and  his  own  little 
yard.  These  buildings  are  finished,  and  exceedingly 
well  finished  too,  to  the  attics ;  containing,  on  the 


*  Cadwallader  related  a  little  anecdote  which  goes  to  prove 
the  danger  of  hasty  conclusions.  Shortly  after  the  war,  an 
English  naval  captain  visited  an  estate  of  which  he  was  the 
proprietor  in  the  State  of  New-York.  He  had  occasion  to  get 
his  carriage  repaired  in  a  village  of  the  interior.  My  friend 
found  him  railing  at  the  addiction  of  the  Americans  to  the  vice 
of  intoxication.  He  had  been  to  three  mechanics  that  morning, 
to  hasten  the  work,  and  two  of  them  were  too  drunk  to  execute 
his  orders.  Cadwallader  demanded  the  names  of  the  two  de 
linquents  ;  both  of  whom  proved  to  be  countrymen  of  the  captain, 
while  the  only  native  American  was  a  sober  individual.  The  fact 
is,  the  poor  of  Europe,  when  they  find  themselves  transplanted 
into  the  abundance  of  America,  are  exceedingly  apt  to  abuse  the 
advantage.  The  Scotch,  the  Swiss,  the  French,  and  the  Ger 
mans,  are  said  to  be  the  most  prudent,  and  the  Irish  and  tha 
English  the  most  indiscreet.  With  the  latter  it  often  happens 
that  the  vice  we  speak  of  is  the  actual  cause  of  their  emigration 


144  FURNITURE    OF    HOUSES 

average,  six  rooms,  besides  offices,  and  seivants 
apartments.  The  furniture  of  these  houses  is  often 
elegant,  and  always  neat.  Mahogany  abounds  here, 
and  is  commonly  used  for  all  the  principal  articles, 
and  very  frequently  for  doorg,  railings  of  stairs,  &c. 
&c.  Indeed,  the  whole  world  contributes  to  their 
luxury.  French  clocks,  English  and  Brussels  car 
pets,  curtains  from  Lyons,  and  the  Indies,  alabaster 
from  France  and  Italy,  marble  of  their  own,  and  from 
Italy,  and,  in  short,  every  ornament  below  the  rarest 
that  is  known  in  every  other  country  in  Christendom, 
and  frequently  out  of  it,  is  put  within  the  reach  of 
the  American  of  moderate  means,  by  the  facilities  of 
their  trade.  In  that  classical  taste  which  has  been  so 
happily  communicated  to  your  French  artisans,  their 
own  are,  without  doubt,  miserably  deficient ;  but  they 
are  good  imitators,  and  there  is  no  scarcity  of  models. 
While,  in  consequence  of  want  of  taste  or  want  of 
wealth,  the  Americans  possess,  in  very  few  instances, 
any  one  of  the  articles  that  contribute  to  the  grace 
of  life  in  the  same  perfection  as  they  are  known  in 
some  one  other  country,  they  enjoy,  by  means  of  their 
unfettered  trade,  a  combination  of  the  same  species 
of  luxuries,  in  a  less  advanced  state,  that  is  found  no 
where  else.  They  often,  nay,  almost  always,  fail  in 
the  particular  excellence,  but  they  possess  an  aggre 
gate  of  approximate  perfection  that  is  unrivalled, 
perhaps,  even  in  England ;  certainly  if  we  descend 
below  the  very  highest  classes  in  the  latter  country. 
But  there  are  hundreds,  I  believe  I  might  almost  say 
a  thousand,  houses  in  New-York  of  pretensions  alto 
gether  superior  to  those  just  named.  A  particular  de 
scription  of  one  belonging  to  a  friend  of  Cadwallader, 
by  whose  favour  I  was  permitted  to  examine  it,  may 
serve  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  whole  of  its  class. 
The  proprietor  is  a  gentleman  of  the  first  society  of 
the  country,  and  of  what  is  here  called  an  easy  for- 


DESCRIPTION  OF  A  PRIVATE  RESIDENCE.         146 

tune,  though  hundreds  of  his  neighbours  enjoy  the 
goods  of  this  world  in  a  far  greater  degree  than  him 
self. 

The  dwelling  of  Mr. is  on  the  Broadway, 

one  of  the  principal  streets,  that  runs  on  the  height 
of  land  along  the  centre  of  the  island,  for  the  distance 
of  about  two  miles.  It  is  the  fashionable  mall  of  the 
city,  and  certainly,  for  gaiety,  the  beauty  and  grace 
of  the  beings  who  throng  it,  and,  above  all,  the  glo 
rious  sun  that  seems  to  reign  here  three  days  out  of 
four,  it  may  safely  challenge  competition  with  most 
if  not  any  of  the  promenades  of  the  old  world.  The 
house  in  question  occupies,  I  should  think,  a  front  of 
about  thirty-four  feet  on  the  Broadway,  and  extends 
into  the  rear  between  sixty  and  seventy  more.  There 
are  no  additions,  the  building  ascending  from  the 
ground  to  its  attics  in  the  same  proportions.  The  ex 
terior  necessarily  presents  a  narrow,  ill-arranged  fa- 
qade,  that  puts  architectural  beauty  a  good  deal  at 
defiance.  The  most  that  can  be  done  with  such  a 
front  is  to  abstain  from  inappropriate  ornament,  and 
to  aim  at  such  an  effect  as  shall  convey  a  proper  idea 
of  the  more  substantial  comforts,  and  of  the  neatness 
that  predominate  within.  The  building  is  of  bricks, 
painted  and  lined,  as  already  described,  and  modestly 
ornamented,  in  a  very  good  taste,  with  caps,  sills, 
cornices,  &c.  &c.  in  the  dark  red  freestone  of  the 
country.  The  house  is  of  four  stories.;  the  lower,  or 
rez  de  chaussee,  being  half  sunk,  as  is  very  usual, 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  the  three  upper 
possessing  elevations  well  proportioned  to  the  height 
of  the  edifice.  The  door  is  at  one  of  the  corners  of 
the  front,  and  is  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  windows  of 
the  first  floor,  which  may  commence  at  the  distance 
of  about  a  dozen  feet  above  the  pavement  of  the 
street.  To  reach  this  door,  it  is  necessary  to  mount 
a  flight  of  steep,  inconvenient  steps,  also  in  freestone, 
which  compensate,  in  a  slight  degree,  for  the  pain  of 
O 


146       NEATNESS,  INCONVENIENCES,  ETC. 

the  ascent,  (neither  of  us,  colonel,  is  as  young  now  as 
the  day  you  crossed  the  bridge  of  Lodi,)  by  their  ad 
mirable  neatness,  and  the  perfect  order  of  their  iron 
rails  and  glittering  brass  ornaments.  The  entrance 
is  into  a  little  vestibule,  which  may  be  some  twelve 
feet  long,  by  eight  in  width.  This  apartment  is  en 
tirely  unfurnished,  and  appears  only  constructed  to 
shelter  visiters  while  the  servant  is  approaching  to 
admit  them  through  the  inner  door.  The  general 
excellence  of  the  climate,  and,  perhaps,  the  customs 
of  the  country,  have,  as  yet,  prevented  the  Americans 
from  providing  a  proper  place  for  the  reception  of  the 
servants  of  their  guests :  they  rarely  wait,  unless 
during  the  short  calls,  and  then  it  is  always  in  the 
street.  As  visiters  are  never  announced,  and  as  but 
one  family  occupies  the  same  building,  there  is  little 
occasion,  unless  to  assist  in  unrobing,  for  a  servant  to 
attend  his  master,  or  mistress,  within  the  outer  door. 
From  the  vestibule  the  entrance  is  into  a  long,  nar 
row,  high,  and  handsome  corridor,  at  the  farther  ex 
tremity  of  which  are  the  principal  stairs.  This  cor 
ridor,  or  passage,  as  it  is  called  here,  is  carpeted, 
lighted  with  a  handsome  lamp,  has  a  table,  and  a  few 
chairs ;  and,  in  short,  is  just  as  unlike  a  French  cor 
ridor  as  any  thing  of  the  sort  can  very  well  be. 
From  this  passage  you  enter  the  rooms  on  the  first 
floor ;  you  ascend  to  the  upper,  and  descend  to  the 
lower  story,  and  you  have  egress  from  and  ingress  to 
the  house  by  its  front  and  rear.  The  first  floor  is  oc 
cupied  by  two  rooms  that  communicate  by  double 
doors.  These  apartmenis  are  of  nearly  equal  size, 
and,  subtracting  the  spa:e  occupied  by  the  passage, 
and  two  little  china  closets,  that  partially  separate 
them,  they  cover  the  whole  area  of  the  house.  Each 
room  is  lighted  by  two  windows  ;  is  sufficiently  high ; 
has  stuccoed  ceiling,  and  cornices  in  white ;  hangings 
of  light,  airy,  French  paper ;  curtains  in  silk  and  in 
muslin ;  mantel-pieces  of  carved  figures  in  white 


DEFECTS BAD   TASTE.  147 

marble  (Italian  in  manufacture,  I  should  think;) 
Brussels  carpets ;  large  mirrors  •,  chairs,  sofas,  and 
tables,  in  mahogany;  chandeliers  ;  beautiful, neat,  and 
highly  wrought  grates  in  the  fire-places  of  home  work; 
candelabras,  lustres,  &c.  &c.,  much  as  one  sees  them 
all  over  Europe.  In  one  of  the  rooms,  however,  is  a 
spacious,  heavy,  ill-looking  side-board,  in  mahogany, 
groaning  with  plate,  knife  and  spoon  cases,  all  hand 
some  enough,  I  allow,  but  sadly  out  of  place  where 
they  are  seen.  Here  is  the  first  great  defect  that  1 
find  in  the  ordering  of  American  domestic  economy. 
The  eating,  or  dining-room,  is  almost  invariably  one 
of  the  best  in  the  house.  The  custom  is  certainly  of 
English  origin,  and  takes  it  rise  in  the  habit  of  sitting 
an  hour  or  two  after  the  cloth  is  removed,  picking 
nuts,  drinking  wine,  chatting,  yawning,  and  gazing 
about  the  apartment.  The  first  great  improvement 
to  be  made  in  the  household  of  these  people  is  to  sub 
stitute  taste  for  prodigality  in  their  tables ;  and  the 
second,  I  think,  will  be  to  choose  an  apartment  for 
their  meals,  that  shall  be  convenient  to  the  offices, 
suited  to  the  habits  of  the  family,  plain  in  its  orna 
ments,  and  removed  from  the  ordinary  occupations 
of  those  who  are  to  enjoy  it.  In  some  houses  this  is 
already  partially  effected ;  but,  as  a  rule,  I  am  per 
suaded  that  the  American  guest,  who  should  find  him 
self  introduced  into  a  salle  a  manger  as  plain  as  that 
in  which  a  French  duke  usually  takes  his  repast, 
would  not  think  his  host  a  man  who  sufficiently  un 
derstood  the  fitness  of  things.  I  have  heard  it  said, 
that  the  occupant  of  the  White  House*  gives  his  din 
ners  in  one  of  these  plain  rooms,  and  that  the  mean 
ness  of  Congress  is  much  laughed  at  because  they  do 
not  order  one  better  furnished  for  him.  Certes  if  Con 
gress  never  showed  a  worse  taste  than  this,  they  might 
safely  challenge  criticism.  As  the  President,  or  his 

*  The  President  of  the  United  States. 


148        EFFECTS  OF  CLEAR  ATMOSPHERE. 

wife,  directs  these  matters,  I  suppose,  however,  the 
great  national  council  is  altogether  innocent  of  the 
innovation. 

You  ascend,  hy  means  of  the  stairs  at  the  end  of 
the  passage,  into  what  is  here  called  the  second  story, 
but  which,  from  the  equivocal  character  of  the  base 
ment,  it  is  difficult  to  name  correctly.  This  ascent  is 
necessarily  narrow,  crowded,  and  inconvenient.  The 
beautiful  railings  in  mahogany  and  brass,  and  the  ad 
mirable  neatness  of  every  part  of  an  American  house 
of  any  pretension,  would  serve  to  reconcile  one  to  a 
thousand  defects.  As  respects  this  cardinal  point,  *I 
think  there  is  little  difference  between  the  English 
and  the  Americans,  at  least,  so  far  as  I  have  yet  seen 
the  latter  ;  but  the  glorious  sun  of  this  climate  illu 
mines  every  thing  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  lend  a 
quality  of  brightness  that  is  rarely  known  in  Britain, 
You  know  that  a  diamond  will  hardly  glitter  in  Lon 
don.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  an  American 
house  is  kept  in  this  order  by  the  aid  of  perhaps  one 
third  of  the  domestics  that  would  be  employed  in  the 
mother  country. 

On  the  second  floor  (or  perhaps  you  will  get  a 
better  idea  if  I  call  it  the  first)  of  the  house  of  Mr. 

,  there  is  a  spacious  saloon,  which  occupies  the 

whole  width  of  the  building,  and  possesses  a  corres 
ponding  breadth.  This  apartment,  being  exclusively 
that  of  the  mistress  of  the  mansion,  is  furnished  with 
rather  more  delicacy  than  those  below.  The  cur 
tains  are  in  blue  India  damask,  the  chairs  and  sofa 
of  the  same  coloured  silk,  and  other  things  are  made 
to  correspond.  The  library  of  the  husband  is  on  the 
same  floor,  and  between  the  two  there  is  a  room  used 
as  a  bed-chamber.  The  third  story  is  appropriated 
to  the  sleeping-rooms  of  the  family ;  the  attic  to  the 
same  purpose  for  the  servants,  and  the  basement 
contains  a  nursery  and  the  usual  offices.  The  whole 
building  is  finished  with  great  neatness,  and  with  a 


MANNER  OF  WORKMANSHIP,  ETC.  149 

solidity  and  accuracy  of  workmanship  that  it  is  rare 
to  meet  in  Europe,  out  of  England.  The  doors  of  the 
better  rooms  are  of  massive  mahogany,  and  wherever 
wood  is  employed,  it  is  used  with  great  taste  and 
skill.  All  the  mantel-pieces  are  marble,  all  the  floors 
are  carpeted,  and  all  the  walls  are  finished  in  a  firm, 
smooth  cement. 

I  have  been  thus  minute  in  my  account,  because 

in  describing  the  house  of  Mr. ,  I  am  persuaded 

that  1  convey  a  general  idea  of  those  of  all  of  the 
upper  :lasses  in  the  northern  section  of  this  country. 
There  are,  certainly,  much  larger  and  more  pretend 
ing  buildings  than  his  in  New- York,  and  many  far 
richer  and  more  highly  wrought ;  but  this  is  the  hab 
itation  of  an  American  in  the  very  best  society,  who 
is  in  easy  circumstances,  of  extensive  and  high  con 
nexions,  and  who  receives  a  fair  proportion  of  his 
acquaintances.  By  extending  the  building  a  little, 
adding  something  to  the  richness  of  the  furniture,  and 
now  and  then  going  as  far  as  two  or  three  cabinet 
pictures,  you  will  embrace  the  establishments  of  the 
most  affluent ;  and  by  curtailing  the  whole,  perhaps, 
to  the  same  degree,  you  will  include  an  immense 
majority  of  all  that  part  of  the  community  who  can 
lay  claim  to  belong  to  the  class  of  les  gens  comme  il 
faut.  It  is  here,  as  elsewhere,  a  fact  that  the  par 
venus  are  commonly  the  most  lavish  in  their  expend 
itures,  either  because  money  is  a  novelty,  or,  what  is 
more  probably  the  case,  because  they  find  it  necessary 
to  purchase  consideration  by  its  liberal  use.  We  will 
now  quit  this  dwelling,  in  which  I  am  fond  of  ac 
knowledging  that  I  have  been  received  with  the  most 
kind  and  polished  hospitality,  by  its  execrable  flight 
of  steps,  and  descend  into  the  street. 

The  New-Yorkers  (how  much  better  is  the  word 
Manhattanese !)  cherish  the  clumsy  inconvenient  en 
trances,  I  believe,  as  heir-looms  of  their  Dutch  pro 
genitors.  They  are  called  "stoops,"  a  word  of  whose 
O  9 


150  HOUSES ARCHITECTURE. 

derivation  I  am  ignorant,  though  that  may  be  of  Hol 
land  too,  and  they  are  found  disfiguring  the  archi 
tecture,  cumbering  the  side-walks,  and  endangering 
the  human  neck,  attached  to  the  front  doors  of  more 
than  two  thirds  of  the  dwellings  of  this  city.  A  better 
taste  is,  however,  gradually  making  its  way,  and 
houses  with  regular  basements  are  seen,  in  which 
the  occupants  can  ascend  to  their  apartments  with 
out  encountering  the  dangers  that  in  winter  must 
frequently  equal  those  of  an  ascent  to  the  summit  of 
Mont  Blanc. 

You  will  see,  by  the  foregoing  description,  that  the 
family  of  an  American  gentleman  in  town,  though  not 
always  so  conveniently,  is  on  the  whole  about  as  well 
lodged  as  the  great  majority  of  the  similar  class  in 
your  own  country.  The  house  of  Mr. con 
tains,  including  three  capacious  saloons,  ten  consider 
able  rooms,  besides  offices,  and  servants1  chambers. 
The  deficiency  is  in  the  dining-room,,  in  the  inconve 
nience  of  the  narrow  stairs,  and  in  the  bad  division 
of  the  principal  apartments  on  the  different  floors;  a 
fault  that  arises  from  the  original  construction  of  the 
building.  Though  the  ornaments  are  in  general  more 
simple,  the  Americans  have  in  very  many  things  a 
great  advantage.  Profiting  by  their  nearly  unshackled 
commerce,  they  import  any  thing  they  choose,  and 
adopt,  or  reject  its  use,  as  fancy  dictates.  Almost 
every  article  of  foreign  industry  can  be  purchased 
here  at  a  very  small  advance  on  the  original  cost,  and 
in  many  instances  even  cheaper.  Competition  is  so 
active,  and  information  so  universal,  and  so  rapidly 
imparted,  that  a  monopoly  can  hardly  exist  for  a 
week,  and  a  glut  is  far  more  common  than  a  scarcity 

You  will  also  see  by  what  I  have  written,  that  the 
Americans  have  not  yet  adopted  a  style  of  architec 
ture  of  their  own.  Their  houses  are  still  essentially 
English,  though  neither  the  winters  nor  the  summers 
of  their  climate  would  seem  to  recommend  them. 


REASONS   FOR  THE   INTERMEDIATE   TASTE.        151 

There  is,  however,  something  in  the  opposite  charac 
ters  of  the  two  seasons,  to  render  a  choice  difficult. 
A  people  in  whose  country  the  heats  of  Florence  and 
the  colds  of  St.  Petersburg  periodically  prevail,  may 
well  hesitate  between  a  marble  fountain  and  a  Rus 
sian  stove.  I  am  not  certain  that,  considering  their 
pursuits,  and  the  peculiarity  of  climate,  they  are  very 
wrong  in  their  present  habits.  But  I  shall  for  ever 
protest  against  the  use  of  carpets,  while  the  ther 
mometer  is  at  90°,  nor  shall  I  soon  cease  to  declaim 
against  those  hideous  excrescences  called  "stoops.'* 
Beautiful,  fragrant,  and  cool  India  mats,  are,  notwith 
standing,  much  in  use  in  midsummer,  in  the  better 
houses.  Still,  with  all  my  efforts,  I  have  not  been 
able  to  find  a  room  to  sleep  in,  that  it  is  not  fortified 
with  a  Brussels,  or  a  double  English  ingrain.  The 
perspiration  stands  on  my  forehead  while  I  write  of 
them!  Another  defect  in  the  American  establish 
ments  is  the  want  of  cabinets  de  toilette.  They  are 
certainly  to  be  found  in  a  few  houses,  but  I  have  oc 
cupied  a  bed-room  five  and  twenty  feet  square,  in  a 
house,  otherwise  convenient,  that  had  not  under  its 
roof  a  single  apartment  of  the  sort.  This  is  truly  a 
sad  prodigality  of  room,  though  space  be  unquestion 
ably  so  very  desirable  in  a  warm  climate. 

I  should  think  about  the  same  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants  keep  carriages  here  as  in  France.  But  the 
ordinary  coaches  of  the  stands  in  New- York  are  quite 
as  good,  and  often  far  better  than  those  voitures  de 
remise  that  one  usually  gets  by  the  day  in  Paris. 
There  is  even  a  still  better  class  of  coaches  to  be  or 
dered  by  the  day,  or  hour,  from  the  stables,  which 
are  much  used  by  the  inhabitants.  The  equipages 
of  this  city,  with  the  exception  of  liveries,  and  her 
aldic  blazonries,  are  very  much  like  those  of  your  own 
mighty  capital.  When  I  first  landed,  coming  as  I 
did  from  England,  I  thought  the  c  Daches  so  exceed 
ingly  light  as  to  be  mean;  but,  too  experienced  a 


*52    EQUIPAGES EFFECTS  OF  HABIT,  ETC 

traveller  to  be  precipitate,  I  waited  for  the  old  im 
pressions  to  lose  a  little  of  their  influence  before  an 
opinion  was  formed,  and  in  a  short  time  I  came  to 
see  their  beauties.  Cadwallader  told  me  that  when 
he  first  arrived  in  England,  he  was  amazed  at  the 
clumsiness  of  the  English  vehicles,  but  that  time,  b} 
rendering  them  familiar,  soon  changed  his  opinion. 
We  went  together  lately  to  examine  a  coach  from 
London,  which  its  owner  had  abandoned,  either  in 
distaste,  or  because  he  found  it  unsuited  to  the  coun 
try,  and  really  it  was  calculated  to  renew  all  the 
original  opinions  of  my  friend.  I  have  heard  of  an 
American  who  carried  to  England  one  of  the  light 
vehicles  of  his  country,  and  after  it  had  arrived,  he 
was  positively  ashamed  to  exhibit  it  among  its  pon 
derous  rivals.  In  this  manner  do  we  all  become  the 
subjects  of  a  capricious  and  varying  taste  that  is  mis 
erably  dependent  on  habit;  a  fact,  simple  as  it  is, 
which  might  teach  moderation  and  modesty  to  all 
young  travellers,  and  rather  less  dogmatism  than  is 
commonly  found  among  some  that  are  older. — Adieu. 


TO  THE  COMTE  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 
&c.  &c. 


New-York, 

IT  may  be  premature  to  pretend  to  speak  with  any 
certainty  concerning  the  true  state  of  ordinary  Ame 
rican  society.  My  opinions  have  already  undergone 
two  or  three  revolutions  on  the  subject,  for  it  is  so 
easy,  where  no  acknowledged  distinctions  prevail,  for 
a  stranger  to  glide  imperceptibly  from  one  circle  to 
another,  that  the  impressions  they  leave  are  very  apt 


MANNERS  OF  AMERICAN  SOCIETY.  15.'] 

to  be  confounded.  I  have  never  yet  conversed  with 
any  declaimer  on  the  bad  tone  of  republican  man 
ners  (and  they  are  not  wanting),  who  has  not  been 
ready  enough  to  confess  this,  or  that,  individual 
an  eminent  exception.  Now,  it  never  appears  tc 
enter  into  ,the  heads  of  the«e  Chesterfieldian  critics 
that  the  very  individuals  in  question  are  so  many 
members  of  a  great  class,  that  very  well  know  how 
to  marshal  themselves  in  their  ordinary  intercourse 
with  each  other,  although,  to  a  stranger,  they  may 
seem  no  more  than  insulated  exceptions,  floating,  as 
it  were  by  accident,  on  the  'bosom  of  a  motley,  and 
frequently  far  from  inviting  state  of  society.  I  think, 
however,  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  see,  at  a  glance, 
that  even  the  best  bred  people  here  maintain  their 
intercourse  among  each  other,  under  far  fewer  arti 
ficial  forms  than  are  to  be  found  in  almost  any  other 
country.  Simplicity  of  deportment  is  usually  the 
concomitant  of  good  sense  every  where  ;  but,  in 
America,  it  is  particularly  in  good  taste.  It  would 
be  a  gratuitous  weakness  in  a  people  who  have  boldly 
denounced  the  dominion  of  courts,  to  descend  to 
imitate  the  cumbrous  forms  which  are  perhaps  neces 
sary  to  their  existence,  and  which  so  insensibly 
become  disseminated,  in  mawkish  imitations,  among 
those  who  live  in  their  purlieus.  Direct  in  theii 
thoughts,  above  the  necessity  of  any  systematic  coun 
terfeiting,  and  in  almost  every  instance,  secure  of  the 
ordinary  means  of  existence,  it  is  quite  in  nature  that 
the  American,  in  his  daily  communications,  should 
consult  the  truth  more,  and  conventional  deception 
less,  than  those  who  are  fettered  and  restrained  by  the 
thousand  pressures  of  a  highly  artificial  state  of  being. 
The  boasted  refinement  of  the  most  polished  court 
in  Europe  is,  after  all,  no  more  than  expertness  in  a 
practice,  which  the  Persian,  with  his  semi-barbarous 
education,  understands  better  than  the  veriest  courtier 
of  them  all.  That  rare  and  lofty  couitesy,  in  which 


154  LESS  ARTIFICIAL  THAN  IN  EUROPE. 

the  party  knows  how  to  respect  himself,  by  sacri 
ficing  no  principle  while  he  reconciles  his  companion 
to  the  stern  character  of  his  morals  by  grace  of  mien 
and  charity  to  his  weaknesses,  is,  I  think,  quite  as 
common  here  as  we  are  wont  to  find  it  in  Europe. 
In  respect  to  those  purely  conventional  forms,  that 
receive  value  only  from  their  use,  and  which  are  so 
highly  prized  by  weak  minds,  because  so  completely 
within  their  reach,  and  which  even  become  familiar 
to  strong  ones  from  an  indisposition  to  dispute  their 
sway,  are  in  no  great  favour  here.  Perhaps  the 
circumstance  that  people  of  education,  fortune,  con 
nexions,  and,  of  course,  of  similar  turn  of  mind,  are 
so  much  separated  by  the  peculiarity  of  the  State 
governments,  into  the  coteries  of  twenty  capital 
towns  instead  of  those  of  one,  is  the  chief  reason  that 
they  are  neglected ;  for  all  experience  proves  that 
fashion  is  a  folly  which  merely  needs  soil  to  take  deep 
root.  Indeed  I  am  not  sure  that  this  species  of  exotic 
will  not,  at  some  future  day,  luxuriate  in  America  to 
a  greater  degree,  than  it  even  thrives  in  the  fertile 
regions  of  the  east.  It  is  certain,  that  in  England, 
the  country  most  resembling  this,  fashionable  society 
is  more  trammelled  by  fictitious  forms,  both  of  speech 
and  deportment,  than  in  any  other  European  nation. 
Every  where  else,  after  certain  sacrifices  are  made  to 
deception  and  the  self-love  of  second  persons,  the 
actor  is  left  to  play  his  part  at  the  instigations  of 
nature ;  but  in  England  there  is  a  fashion  for  drink 
ing  a  glass  of  wine,  for  pronouncing,  and  mispro 
nouncing  a  word,  for  even  perverting  its  meaning, 
for  being  polite,  and  what  is  still  more  strange,  some 
times  for  being  rude  and  vulgar.  Any  one  who  has 
lived  twenty  years,  may  recall  a  multitude  of  changes 
that  have  occurred  in  the  most  cherished  usages  of 
what  is  called  good-breeding.  Now,  there  must  be 
a  reason  for  all  this  whimsical  absurdity.  Is  it  not 
owing  to  the  peculiarly  vacillating  nature  of  her  aris- 


INFLUENCE  OF  FASHIOI^ LESS  DESPOTIC  HERE.  15£ 

fcocracy  ?  In  a  country  where  wealth  is  constantly 
bringing  new  claimants  for  consideration  into  the 
arena  of  fashion,  (for  it  is,  after  all,  no  more  than  a 
struggle  for  notoriety,  that  may  be  more  bloodless, 
but  is  not  less  bitter  than  that  of  the  gladiators,)  those 
who  are  m  its  possession  contrive  all  possible  means 
of  distinction  between  themselves  and  those  who  are 
about  to  dispute  their  ascendancy.  Beyond  a  doubt 
what  is  called  high  English  society,  is  more  repulsive, 
artificial  and  cumbered,  and,  in  short,  more  absurd 
and  frequently  less  graceful  than  that  of  any  other 
European  nation.  Still  the  English  are  a  rational, 
sound,  highly  reasoning,  manly  and  enlightened  peo 
ple.  It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  inconsistency, 
but  by  believing  that  the  struggle  for  supremacy  gives 
birth  to  every  species  of  high-bred  folly,  among  which 
is  to  be  numbered  no  small  portion  of  customs  that 
would  be  more  honoured  in  the  breach  than  in  the 
observance. 

If  like  causes  are  always  to  produce  like  effects, 
the  day  may  come  when  the  same  reasons  shall 
induce  the  American  fashionables  of  two  generations 
to  lead  the  fashionables  of  one,  a  similar  wild-goose 
chase  in  quest  of  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  elegance.  As 
the  fact  now  stands,  the  accessions  to  the  coteries  are 
so  very  numerous,  and  are  commonly  made  with 
strides  so  rapid,  that  it  is  as  yet,  fortunately,  more 
likely  to  give  distinction  to  be  rationally  polite,  than 
genteelly  vulgar. 

Of  one  truth,  however,  I  am  firmly  persuaded,  that 
nineteen  out  of  twenty  of  the  strangers  who  visit  this 
country,  can  give  no  correct  analysis  of  the  manners 
which  prevail  in  the  different  circles  that  divide  this, 
like  all  other  great  communities.  The  pursuits  and 
the  inclinations  of  the  men  bring  them  much  oftener 
together  than  those  of  the  women.  It  is  therefore 
among  the  females  that  the  nicer  and  more  delicate 
shades  of  distinction  are  to  be  sought.  The  very  prev- 


156  INFLUENCE  OJ  TALENTS,  MONEY,  ETC. 

alent  notion  of  Europe,  that  society  must,  of  necessity, 
exist,  in  a  pure  democracy,  on  terms  of  promiscuous 
association,  is  too  manifestly  absurd  to  need  any  con 
tradiction  with  one  who  knows  life  as  well  as  yourself. 

It  would  require  the  magical  power  which  that 
renowned  philanthropist,  Mr.  Owen,  ascribes  to  his 
system,  to  destroy  the  influence  of  education,  talents, 
money,  or  even  of  birth.  They  all,  in  fact,  exist  in 
America,  just  as  they  do  with  us,  only  modified,  and 
in  some  degree  curtailed. 

You  may  perhaps  be  startled  to  hear  of  distinction 
conferred  by  birth  among  a  people  whose  laws  deny 
it  a  single  privilege  or  immunity.  Even  thousands 
of  Americans  themselves,  who  have  scarcely  de 
scended  into  their  own  system  farther  than  is  abso 
lutely  requisite  to  acquire  its  general  maxims,  will 
stoutly  maintain  that  it  has  no  reality.  I  remember 
to  have  heard  one  of  these  generalizers  characterize 
the  folly  of  a  young  acquaintance  by  saying,  with  pe 
culiar  bitterness  of  tone,  "  he  presumes  on  his  being 

the  son  of ."  Now,  if  some  portion  of  the 

consideration  of  the  father  were  not  transmissible  to 
the  descendant,  the  latter  clearly  could  in  no  degree 
presume  on  his  birth.  It  is  fortunate  here,  as  else 
where,  to  be  the  child  of  a  worthy,  or  even  of  an 
affluent  parent.  The  goods  of  the  latter  descend, 
by  process  of  law,  to  the  offspring,  and,  by  aid  of 
public  opinion,  the  son  receives  some  portion  of  the 
renown  that  has  been  earned  by  the  merit  of  the 
father.  It  is  useless  to  dwell  on  those  secret  and 
deep-rooted  feelings  by  wnich  man,  in  all  ages,  and 
under  every  circumstance,  has  been  willing  to  per 
mit  this  hereditary  reflection  of  character,  in  order 
to  prove  that  human  nature  must  have  sway  in  the 
republics  of  North  America,  as  in  the  monarchies  of 
the  east.  A  thousand  examples  might  be  quoted  to 
show  that  the  influence  of  this  sentiment  of  birth, 
(just  so  far  as  it  is  a  sentiment  and  not  a  prejudice,) 


HOW  FAR  BIRTH  IS  RESPECTED.       157 

ife  not  only  felt  by  the  people,  but  is  openly  acknow 
ledged  by  the  government  of  the  country  in  its  prac 
tices.  Unless  I  am  grossly  misinformed,  the  relative 
of  one  who  had  served  the  state,  for  instance,  would, 
cceteris  paribus,  prevail  in  an  application  for  the  pub 
lic  favour,  over  a  competitor  who  could  urge  no  such 
additional  claim  ;  and  the  reason  of  the  decision 
would  be  deemed  satisfactory  by  the  nation.  No  one 
would  be  hardy  enough  to  deny,  that,  had  Washington 
left  a  child,  he  would  have  passed  through  society, 
or  even  before  the  public,  on  a  perfect  equality  with 
men  similarly  endowed,  though  not  similarly  born. 
Just  as  this  hereditary  advantage  would  be  true  in 
the  case  of  a  son  of  Washington,  it  is  true,  with  a 
lessened  effect,  in  those  of  other  men.  It  would  be 
a  weak  and  a  vain,  because  an  impracticable  and  an 
unwise  attempt,  in  any  people,  to  reject  so  sweet  an 
incentive  to  virtue  on  the  part  of  the  parent,  or  so 
noble  a  motive  of  emulation  on  that  of  the  child.  It 
is  enough  for  the  most  democratic  opinions,  that  the 
feeling  should  be  kept  within  the  limits  of  reason. 
The  community,  in  a  government  trammelled  by  so 
few  factitious  forms,  always  holds  in  its  own  power 
a  sufficient  check  on  the  abuse  of  the  privilege ;  and 
here,  in  fact,  is  to  be  found  the  true  point  of  distinc 
tion,  not  only  between  the  governments  of  this  and 
other  countries,  but  between  the  conditions  of  their 
ordinary  society  also.  In  America,  while  the  claims 
of  individuals  are  admitted,  it  is  easy  to  satisfy,  to 
weaken,  or  to  lose  them.  It  is  not  enough  simply  to 
be  the  son  of  a  great  man ;  in  order  to  render  it  of 
essential  advantage,  some  portion  of  his  merit  must 
become  hereditary,  or  the  claim  had  better  be  sup 
pressed.  Even  an  honourable  name  may  become 
matter  of  reproach,  since,  when  the  public  esteem  is 
once  forfeited,  the  recollection  of  the  ancestor  only 
serves  to  heighten  the  demerit  of  his  delinquent  child, 
There  is  no  privileged  rank  under  which  he  can 
P 


158  MORALS  NECESSARY  FOR  INFLUENCE. 

stalk  abroad  and  flout  at  the  morals,  or  offend  the 
honesty  of  men  better  than  himself,  and  the  councils 
of  the  nation  are  for  ever  hermetically  sealed  againsi 
his  entrance. 

In  society,  the  punishment  of  this  unworthiness, 
though  necessarily  less  imposing,  is  scarcely  less  direct 
and  salutary.  Nothing  is  easier  than  for  a  member 
of  any  circle  to  forfeit  the  privileges  of  caste.  It  is  a 
fact  highly  creditable  to  the  morals  of  this  people, 
unless  close  observation  and  the  opinions  of  Cad- 
wallader  greatly  mislead  me,  that  a  circle  confessedly 
inferior  will  not  receive  an  outcast  from  one  above  it. 
The  great  qualifications  for  all  are,  in  moral  essen 
tials,  the  same.  It  is  not  pretended  that  all  men,  or 
even  all  women,  in  the  United  States,  are  exemplary 
in  their  habits,  or  that  they  live  in  a  state  of  entire 
innocence,  compared  with  that  of  their  fellow-mortals 
elsewhere ;  but  there  is  not  a  doubt  that  the  tone  of 
manners  here  requires  the  utmost  seemliness  of  de 
portment  ;  that  suspicion  even  may  become  danger 
ous  to  a  man,  and  is  almost  always  fatal  to  a  woman; 
and  that  as  access  to  the  circles  is  effected  with  less 
difficulty  than  with  us,  so  is  the  path  of  egress  much 
more  readily  to  be  found. 

There  is  a  very  summary  way  of  accounting  for 
these  things,  by  saying  that  all  this  is  no  more  than 
the  result  of  a  simple  state  of  society,  and  that  in  the 
absence  of  luxury,  and  especially  in  a  country  where 
the  population  is  scattered,  the  result  is  precisely  that 
which  was  to  be  expected.  Why  then  is  not  the  tone 
of  manners  as  high  in  South  as  in  North  America,  or 
why  are  the  moralists  in  the  cities  quite  as  fastidious, 
or  even  more  so,  than  those  on  the  most  remote  bor 
ders  ?  The  truth  is,  that  neither  the  polity  nor  the 
manners  of  the  Americans  bear  that  recent  origin  we 
are  wont  to  give  them.  Both  have  substantially  en 
dured  the  test  of  two  centuries  ;  and  though  they  are 
becoming  meliorated  and  more  accommodating  by 


LUXURIES    QUITE    COMMON  159 

time,  it  is  idle  to  say  that  they  are  merely  the  expe 
riments  of  the  hour.  Nor  is  it  very  safe  to  ascribe 
any  quality,  good  or  bad,  to  the  Americans  on  account 
of  their  being  removed  from  the  temptations  of  luxury. 
That  they  have  abstained  from  excessive  indulgence, 
is  more  the  effect  of  taste  or  principle,  than  of  neces 
sity.  I  have  never  yet  visited  any  country  where 
luxuries  were  so  completely  within  the  reach  of  the 
majority.  It  is  true  that  their  manners  are  not  ex 
posed  to  the  temptations  of  courts ;  but  it  is  equally 
true  that  they  have  deliberately  rejected  the  use  of 
such  a  form  of  government  as  renders  them  necessary. 
Before  leaving  this  subject  I  must  explain  a  little, 
or  what  I  have  already  written  may  possibly  lead  you 
into  error.  The  influence  of  birth,  though  undoubted, 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  existing  here  in  any  thing 
like  the  extent,  or  even  under  the  same  forms,  as  in 
Europe.*  The  very  nation,  which,  in  tenderness  to 
the  father,  might  be  disposed  to  accord  a  certain  de 
ference  to  the  child  who  had  received  his  early  im 
pressions  under  such  a  man  as  Washington,  would  be 
very  apt  to  turn  a  cold  and  displeased  eye  on  the 
follies  or  vices  of  a  more  distant  descendant.  You 
may  be  prepared  to  answer,  '  all  this  reads  well,  but 
we  will  wait  the  effects  of  time  on  a  system  that  pre 
tends  to  elevate  itself  above  the  established  prejudices 


*  We  have  the  authority  of  a  great  contemporary  (the  biog 
rapher  of  Napoleon)  for  believing  that  the  science  of  heraldry 
reverses  the  inferences  of  reason,  by  shedding  more  lustre  on  the 
remote  descendant  than  on  the  founder  of  an  illustrious  name. 
This  is,  at  the  best,  but  an  equivocal  acknowledgment,  and  it  is 
undeniably  far  too  sublimated  for  the  straight-going  common 
sense  of  the  Americans.  The  writer  is  inclined  to  believe  that 
the  very  opposite  ground  is  maintained  by  the  proficients  in 
American  heraldry,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  great  man  him 
self  is  thought  to  be  the  greatest  man  of  his  family,  and  that  the 
reflection  of  his  talents,  probity,  courage,  or  for  whatever  quality 
he  may  have  been  most  remarkable,  is  thought  to  shed  most  lustre 
on  those  of  his  offspring  who  have  lived  nearest  to  its  influence. 


160  ANECDOTE    OF    A    FARMER. 

of  the  rest  of  the  world/  But  in  what  is  reason 
weaker  than  prejudice,  after  its  conclusions  have 
been  confirmed  by  practice  ?  I  repeat,  these  people 
are  net  experimenting,  but  living  in  conformity  to 
usages,  and  under  institutions  that  have  already  been 
subject  to  the  trials  of  two  hundred  years.  So  far  as 
I  can  learn,  instead  of  imperceptibly  falling  into  the 
train  of  European  ideas,  they  have  rather  been  silently 
receding ;  and  if  there  has  been  the  least  approxima 
tion  between  the  opinions  of  the  two  hemispheres  on 
these  subjects,  the  change  has  been  wrought  among 
ourselves.  While  travelling  in  the  interior  of  New- 
England,  an  honest  looking  farmer  endeavoured  to 
read  the  blazonry  that,  by  the  negligence  of  a  servant, 
had  been  suffered  to  remain  on  the  plate  of  one  of 
my  travelling  cases.  I  endeavoured  to  solve  the  dif 
ficulties  of  the  good  man  by  explaining  the  use  and 
meaning  of  the  arms.  No  sooner  did  the  American 
find  that  I  was  disposed  to  humour  his  curiosity,  than 
he  asked  several  home  questions,  that,  it  must  be  con 
fessed,  were  not  without  their  embarrassment.  If 
was  necessary  finally  to  tell  him  that  these  were  dis 
tinctions  that  had  been  conferred  by  different  sove 
reigns  on  the  ancestors  of  the  owner  of  the  case.  "  If 
there  is  no  harm  in't,  may  I  ask  for  what?"  "For 
their  courage  in  battle,  and  devotion  to  their  princes.11 
The  worthy  republican  regarded  the  plate  for  some 
time  intently ;  and  then  bluntly  inquired  "  if  this  was 
all  the  reward  they  had  received  ?"  As  it  was  use 
less  to  contend  against  the  prejudices  of  an  ignorant 
man,  a  retreat  was  effected  as  soon  as  convenient.* 


*  The  simplicity  which  one  finds  on  these  subjects  in  America, 
is  often  not  without  amusement.  The  general  use  of  books,  and 
the  multitude  of  journals  in  the  United  States,  certainly  prevent 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country  from  being  as  ignorant  of  the 
usages  of  Europe,  as  the  people  of  Europe,  even  of  the  better 
classes,  are  commonly  of  them ;  still  there  are  thousands  who 


ARMORIAL     BEARINGS.  161 

Notwithstanding  these  instances  of  ignorance,  the 
mass  of  the  people  are  surprisingly  familiar  with  the 
divisions  of  a  society  that  is  so  different  from  their 
own.  While  alluding  to  armorial  bearings,  it  may  be 
well  to  add,  that  I  saw  a  great  number,  emblazoned 
in  different  materials,  suspended  from  the  walls  of  the 
dwellings,  especially  in  New-England.  They  are 
frequently  seen  on  carriages,  and  perhaps  oftener  still 
on  watch-seals.  My  travelling  companion  was  asked 
to  explain  why  these  evidences  of  an  aristocratical 
feeling  were  seen  among  a  people  so  thoroughly  dem 
ocratic.  The  substance  of  his  answer  shall  be  given : 
"  Though  the  Americans  do  not  always  venerate  their 
ancestors,  for  precisely  the  same  reasons  as  are  ac 
knowledged  in  Europe,  they  are  nevertheless  descend 
ed  from  the  same  sort  of  progenitors.  Those  who 
emigrated  to  this  hemisphere,  brought  with  them  most 
of  the  opinions  of  the  old  world.  Such  of  them  as  bore 
coats  of  arms  did  not  forget  the  distinction,  and  those 
that  you  see  are  the  relics  of  times  long  since  past. 
They  have  not  been  disposed  of,  for  no  other  reason 
that  I  can  discover,  than  because  it  is  difficult  to  find 
a  use  for  them.  Most  of  the  trinkets  are  heir-looms ; 
though  many  individuals  find  a  personal  convenience 
in  the  use  of  seals  which  are  appropriate  to  themselves. 
There  are  others  who  openly  adopt  arms  for  the  sake 
of  this  convenience,  sometimes  rejecting  those  which 
have  long  been  used  by  their  families,  simply  because 
they  are  not  sufficiently  exclusive  ;  and  there  are  cer- 


form  droll  opinions  on  the  subject  of  our  distinctive  habits.  A 
German  prince  of  the  family  of  Saxe  Weimar,  was  travelling  in 
the  United  States  during  the  visit  of  the  writer.  He  made  him 
self  acceptable  every  where,  by  his  simplicity  and  good  sense.  A 
little  crowd  had  collected  round  an  inn  where  he  had  stopped, 
and  a  new  comer  inquired  of  one  of  his  acquaintance,  "  why  he 
etared  at  the  big  man  in  the  piazza?"  "  Oh,  for  nothing  at  all, 
only  they  say  he  is  a  Duke  !"  "  A  Duke  !  I  wonder  what  he  does 
for  a  living  ?" 

P  2 


162          ARISTOCRATIC    USAGES    DISAPPEARING. 

tainlj  some  who  are  willing  to  creep  under  the  man 
tie  of  gentility  at  so  cheap  a  rate.  Foreigners,  when 
they  see  these  exhibitions,  and  find  self-established 
heralds  in  the  shape  of  seal-cutters,  &c.  in  the  country 
sometimes  believe  that  wealth  is  gradually  producing 
a  change  in  the  manners  of  the  people  to  the  prejudice 
of  democracy.  But  they  fall  into  an  egregious  error 
The  fact  is,  that  even  this  innocent,  though  perhaps 
absurd  vanity,  is  getting  rapidly  into  disuse,  together 
with  most  of  the  other  distinctive  usages  of  orders  in 
society,  that  are  not  purely  connected  with  character 
and  deportment.  No  one,  for  instance,  thinks  now 
of  exhibiting  the  arms  on  any  portion  of  the  dwelling, 
in  hatchments,  or  on  tombstones,  though  all  were 
practised  openly  within  thirty  years.  Liveries  are 
scarcely  so  frequent  now  as  formerly,  while  coaches, 
coachmen,  and  footmen  are  multiplied  fifty-fold.  In 
short,  the  whole  country,  not  only  in  its  government, 
but  in  all  its  habits,  is  daily  getting  to  be  more  purely 
democratic,  instead  of  making  the  smallest  approaches 
to  the  opposite  extreme.  I  state  this  merely  as  a  fact 
that  any  well-informed  American  will  corroborate, 
leaving  you  to  your  own  reasoning  and  inferences.*" 

It  is  a  peculiar  feature  of  American  democracy, 
and  it  is  one  which  marks  its  ancient  date  and  its 
entire  security,  that  it  is  unaccompanied  by  any 
jealousy  of  aristocracy  beyond  that  which  distin 
guishes  the  usual  rancour  of  personal  envy.  One 
may  sometimes  hear  remarks  that  denote  the  sour 
ness  of  an  unsuccessful  rivalry,  but  the  feeling  can 
nowhere  be  traced  in  the  conduct  of  the  nation.  The 
little  States  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  contain, 
beyond  a  doubt,  the  two  most  purely  democratic 
communities  in  the  civilized  world.  In  both,  the  pub 
lic  will  is  obeyed  with  the  submission  that  a  despot 
would  exact;  and,  m  the  latter,  it  is  consulted  to  a 
minuteness  of  detail  that  would  be  inconvenient,  if 
not  impracticable,  in  a  community  of  more  extended 


SOCIETY    OF    NEW-YORK.  163 

interests.  Now,  mark  one  effect  of  this  excessive 
democracy  which  you  may  not  be  prepared  to  ex 
pect.  No  less  than  three  governors  of  Connecticut 
have  been  named  to  me,  who,  in  due  progress  of  time, 
and  at  suitable  ages,  have  been  selected  to  sit  in  the 
chair  which  their  fathers  had  filled  with  credit. 
Many  inferior  offices  also  exist,  which,  were  it  not 
for  the  annual  decision  of  the  people,  might  be 
thought  to  have  become  hereditary  in  certain  fami 
lies,*  Here  is  proof  that  the  sovereign  people  can 
be  as  stable  in  their  will,  as  the  will  of  any  other 
sovereign.  Of  the  five  Presidents  who  have  filled  the 
chair,  since  the  -adoption  of  the  present  constitution 
in  1739,  but  one  has  left  a  son.  That  son  is  now  a 
candidate  for  the  same  high  office;  and  though  the 
circumstance,  amid  a  thousand  other  absurdities,  is 
sometimes  urged  against  his  election,  it  is  plain  there 
is  not  a  man  in  the  whole  nation  who  deems  it  of 
the  least  importance.! 

As  might  be  expected,  the  general  society  of  New- 
York  bears  a  strong  impression  of  its  commercial 
character.  In  consequence  of  the  rapid  growth  of 
the  city,  the  number  of  families  that  may  be  prop 
erly  classed  among  those  which  have  long  been 
distinguished  in  its  history  for  their  wealth  and  im 
portance,  bears  a  much  smaller  proportion  to  its 
entire  population  than  that  of  most  other  places.  A 
great  many  of  the  principal  personages  were  swept 
away  by  the  Revolution.  Under  these  constant  and 
progressive  changes,  as  might  be  expected,  the  influ 
ence  of  their  manners  is,  I  think,  less  perceptible 
than,  for  instance,  in  Philadelphia.  Still,  a  much 
larger  class  of  what  in  Europe  forms  the  £lite  of  so- 


*  The  writer  was  assured  that  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State, 
in  Rhode  Island,  had  been  in  one  family  for  near  seventy  years. 

tMr.  John  Quincy  Adams    he  was  chosen  the  following  win 
ter,  and  is  no  v  President. 


164          INFLUENCE  OF  MERCHANTS. 

ciety  exists  here,  than  strangers  commonly  suppose 
My  letters  first  threw  me,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
among  the  mercantile  men;  and  I  found  that  mixture 
of  manners,  information,  arid  character,  that  distin 
guishes  the  class  every  where.  It  was  my  lot  fre 
quently  to  occupy  a  seat  at  a  banquet  between  some 
fine,  spirited,  intelligent  individual,  whose  mind  and 
"manners  had  been  improved  by  travel  and  education, 
and,  perhaps,  another  votary  of  Plutus,  (one  hardly 
dare  say  of  Mercury,  in  this  stage  of  the  world,)  whose 
ideas  were  never  above  the  level  of  a  sordid  calcula 
tion,  and  all  of  whose  calculations  were  as  egotistical 
as  his  discourse.  It  strikes  me  that -both  a  higher  and 
a  lower  order  of  men  mingle  in  commerce  here,  than 
is  seen  elsewhere,  if,  perhaps,  the  better  sort  of  Eng 
lish  merchants  be  excepted.  Their  intimate  relations 
on  "  'Change11  bring  them  all,  more  or  less,  together 
in  the  saloons ;  nor  can  the  associations  well  be  avoid 
ed,  until  the  place  shall  attain  a  size,  which  must  leave 
every  one  the  perfect  master  of  his  own  manner  of 
living.  That  hour  is  fast  approaching  for  New-York, 
and  with  it,  I  think,  must  come  a  corresponding  change 
in  the  marshalling  of  its  coteries. 

When  Cadwallader  returned  from  the  country,  J 
fell  into  a  very  different  circle.  His  connexions  were 
strictly  of  New-York,  and  they  were  altogether  among 
the  principal  and  longest  established  families.  Here 
I  met  with  many  men  of  great  leisure  and  large  for 
tunes,  who  had  imparted  to  their  children  what  they 
had  received  from  their  fathers ;  and  it  would  not  have 
been  easy,  after  making  some  slight  allowances  for  a 
trifling  tinge  of  Dutch  customs,  to  have  distinguished 
between  their  society  and  that  portion  of  the  English 
who  live  in  great  abundance,  without  falling  into  the 
current  of  what  is  called  high  or  fashionable  life. 
Although  many,  not  only  of  the  best  informed,  but  of 
the  best  bred  of  the  Americans,  are  merchants,  the 
tone  of  manners  in  this  circle  was  decidedly  more 


COLDNESS    OF    MANNER.  165 

even  and  graceful  than  in  that  which  strictly  belongs 
to  the  former.  But  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  so 
ciety  in  New-York,  in  consequence  of  its  extraordi 
nary  increase,  is  rather  in  a  state  of  effervescence 
than  settled,  and,  where  that  is  the  case,  I  presume 
you  will  not  be  surprised  to  know,  that  the  lees  some 
times  get  nearer  to  the  surface  than  is  desirable. 
Nothing  is  easier  than  for  a  well-behaved  man,  who 
is  tolerably  recommended,  to  get  admission  into  the 
houses  of  the  larger  proportion  of  those  who  seek  no 
toriety  by  courting  a  general  intercourse;  but  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  the  doors  of  those  who  are 
secure  of  their  stations  are  guarded  with  the  cus 
tomary  watchfulness.  Still  you  will  always  remem 
ber,  that  suspicion  is  less  alert  than  in  Europe;  fcv 
where  temptations  to  abuse  confidence  are  so  rare, 
one  is  not  much  disposed  to  clog  the  enjoyments  of 
life  by  admitting  so  sullen  a  guest.  The  effect  of  this 
general  confidence  is  a  less  restrained  and  more 
natural  communication. 

There  is  a  common  accusation  against  the  Amer 
icans,  men  and  women,  of  being  cold  in  their  man,- 
ners.  Some  carry  their  distaste  of  the  alleged  defect 
so  far,  as  to  impute  it  to  a  want  of  feeling.  1  have 
even  listened  to  speculations  so  ingenious,  as  to  refer 
it  to  a  peculiarity  in  the  climate — a  reasoning  that 
was  thought  to  be  supported  by  the  well-known  im 
perturbability  of  the  Aborigines.  Whether  the  theory 
be  true  or  false,  the  argument  that  is  brought  to 
maintain  it  is  of  most  unfortunate  application.  The 
tornado  itself  is  not  more  furious  than  the  anger  of 
the  Indian,  nor  is  it  easy  to  imagine  a  conformation 
of  the  human  mind  that  embraces  a  wider  range  of 
emotions,  from  the  fiercest  to  the  most  gentle,  than 
what  the  original  owners  of  this  country  possess. 
Civilization  might  multiply  the  changes  of  their  hu 
mour,  but  it  would  scarcely  exhibit  it  in  more  de 
cided  forms.  I  confess,  however,  that  even  in  Cad- 


166      COLDNESS  OF  MANNER ANECDOTE. 

wallader,  I  thought,  during  the  first  weeks  of  oui 
intercourse,  something  of  this  restraint  of  manner 
was  perceptible.  In  his  countrymen,  and  more  par 
ticularly  his  countrywomen,  the  defect  seemed  no 
less  apparent.  In  New-England,  notwithstanding 
their  extraordinary  kindness  in  deeds,  there  was  often 
an  apparent  coldness  of  demeanour  that  certainly 
lessened,  though  it  could  not  destroy  its  effect.* 


*  An  instance  of  this  suppressed  manner  occurred  while  the 
author  was  at  New- York  in  the  summer  of  1825.  An  English 
frigate  (the  Hussar)  entered  the  port,  and  anchored  a  short  dis 
tance  below  the  town.  Her  captain  was  the  owner  of  a  London- 
built  wherry,  which  he  kept  for  his  private  sport,  as  his  country  - 
rren  on  shore  are  known  to  kee.p  racers.  It  seems  that  some 
conversation  concerning  the  model  of  this  boat,  and  of  those  of 
New-York,  and  perhaps,  too,  respecting  the  comparative  skill  of 
four  London  watermen  whom  he  was  said  to  retain  as  a  sort  of 
grooms,  and  the  renowned  Whitehallers,  induced  him  to  insert  a 
challenge  in  the  journals,  wherein  he  threw  down  the  glove,  for 
a  trial  of  speed,  to  all  the  mariners  or  sportsmen  of  the  city. 
The  Whitehallers  took  up  the  gage,  and  a  day  was  publicly 
named  for  the  trial.  It  was  quite  evident  that  the  citizens,  who 
are  keenly  alive  to  any  thing  that  affects  their  reputation  on  the 
water,  let  it  be  ever  so  trifling,  took  great  interest  in  the  result. 
Thousands  of  spectators  assembled  on  the  Battery  ;  and,  to  keep 
alive  the  excitement,  there  were  not  five  Englishmen  or  English 
women  in  the  city  who  did  not  appear  to  back  the  enterprise  of 
their  countrymen.  The  distance  run  (about  two  miles)  was 
from  the  frigate  to  a  boat  anchored  in  the  Hudson,  and  thence  to 
another  which  lay  at  a  short  distance  from  the  Castle  Garden, 
already  described.  On  board  of  the  latter,  the  judges  (who,  it 
is  presumed,  were  of  both  nations,)  had  adopted  those  delicate 
symbols  of  victory  which  had  so  recently  been  pitted  against  each 
other  in  far  less  friendly  encounters,  i.  e.  the  national  flags.  The 
writer  and  his  friend,  who,  notwithstanding  his  philosophy,  felt 
great  interest  in  the  result,  took  their  stand  on  the  belvidere  of 
the  castle,  which  commanded  a  fine  view  of  the  whole  bay.  On 
their  right  hand  stood  a  young  American  naval  officer,  and  on 
their  left  a  pretty  and  highly  excited  young  Englishwoman. 
The  frigate  fired  a  gun,  and  the  two  boats  were  seen  dashing 
ahead  at  the  signal.  One  soon  took  the  lead,  and  maintained  it 
to  the  end  of  the  race,  beating  by  near  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  though 
the  oarsmen  came  in  pulling  only  with  one  hand  each.  For  some 
time,  the  distance  prevented  a  clear  view  of  which  was  likely  to 


REASONS    FOR   TMF.     SAME.  167 

This  national  trait  can  neither  be  likened  to,  nor 
accounted  for,  by  any  of  those  causes  which  are  sup 
posed  to  produce  the  approximating  qualities  in  some 
of  the  people  of  our  hemisphere.  It  is  not  the  effect 
of  climate,  since  it  exists  equally  in  45°  and  30°.  It 
is  not  the  phlegm  of  the  German,  for  no  one  can  be 
more  vivacious,  frank,  cordial,  and  communicative 
than  the  American,  when  you  have  effected  the  easy 
task  of  breaking  through  the  barrier  of  his  reserve. 
It  cannot  be  the  insulated  pride  of  the  Spaniard, 
brooding  under  his  cloak  on  the  miserable  condition 
of  to-day,  or  dreaming  of  the  glories  of  the  past ;  nor 
is  it  the  repulsive  hauteur  of  the  Englishman,  for  no 


be  the  victor.  A  report  spread  on  the  left  that  it  was  the  boat  of  the 
frigate.  The  eyes  of  the  fair  Englishwoman  danced  with  pleasure, 
and  she  murmured  her  satisfaction  so  audibly  as  to  reach  the  ears 
of  all  near  her.  The  writer  turned"to  see  the  effect  on  his  right-hand 
neighbour.  He  was  smiling  at  the  feeling  of  the  lady,  but  soon 
gravely  turned  his  eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  boats.  He  was  ask 
ed  which  was  ahead.  He  answered,  "  the  Whitehallers  !"  and 
directed  the  attention  to  a  simple  fact  to  confirm  his  opinion.  The 
victors  were  pulling  with  so  swift  and  equal  a  stroke,  as  to  render 
their  oars  (at  that  distance)  imperceptible,  whereas  there  were 
moments  when  the  blades  of  those  in  the  beaten  boat  could  be 
distinctly  seen.  This  the  young  lieutenant  described  as  a  "  man- 
of-war  stroke,"  which,  he  said,  "could  never  beat  a  dead  White 
hall-pull,  let  the  rowers  come  from  where  they  would."  The  fact 
proved  that  he  was  right.  The  English  flag  was  lowered  amid 
three  manful  cheers  from  the  goal-boat,  which  was  no  other  than 
the  launch  of  the  Hussar.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  boys,  the 
Americans,  though  secretly  much  elated,  made  no  answer,  and 
it  was  difficult  to  trace  the  least  change  in  the  countenances  of 
the  spectators.  On  quitting  the  Battery,  the  writer  and  his  friend 
met  a  French  gentleman  of  their  acquaintance  descending  the 
Broadway  to  witness  the  race.  He  held  up  both  hands,  and 
shook  his  head,  by  the  way  of  condolence.  His  error  was  ex 
plained.  "  Victors  !"  he  exclaimed,  looking  around  him  in  ludi 
crous  surprise,  "I  could  have  sworn  by  the  gravity  of  every  face 
I  see,  that  the  Englishmen  had  beaten  you  half  the  distance  !" 
It  is  no  more  than  fair  to  add,  that  something  was  said  of  an  ac 
cident  to  the  Hussar's  boat,  of  which  the  writer  pretends  to  knov» 
nothing,  but  of  which  he  is  sure  the  grave  crowd  by  which  he 
was  surrounded  was  quite  as  ignorant  as  himself. 


168  EFFECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  DOGMAS. 

one  is  more  disposed  to  admit  of  the  perfect  equality 
of  his  fellow-creatures  than  the  native  of  this  country 
By  some  it  has  been  supposed  to  be  the  fruits  of  the 
metaphysical,  religious  dogmas  and  stern  discipline 
that  were  long  taught  and  practised  in  so  many  of  the 
original  colonies.  That  the  religion  of  the  Puritans 
and  of  the  Friends  left  their  impressions,  is,  I  think, 
beyond  a  doubt ;  for  the  very  peculiarity  of  manner 
to  which  we  have  reference,  is  to  be  found,  in  differ 
ent  sections  of  the  Union,  modified  by  the  absence  or 
prevalence  of  their  self-mortifying  doctrines.  Still, 
one  finds  degrees  of  this  same  exterior  among  the 
Episcopalians  of  New-York,  the  Catholics  of  Mary 
land,  the  merchants  of  the  east,  the  great  landed  pro 
prietors  of  the  middle  States,  and  the  planters  of  the 
south.  It  is  rather  tempered  than  destroyed  by  the 
division  of  States,  of  religion,  or  of  habits.  It  is  said 
even  to  begin  to  exhibit  itself  among  the  French  of 
Louisiana,  who  are  already  to  be  distinguished  from 
their  kinsmen  in  Europe  by  greater  gravity  of  eye  and 
mien.  It  is  even  so  contagious,  that  no  foreigner  can 
long  dwell  within  its  influence  without  contracting 
more  or  less  of  its  exterior.  It  does  not  arise  from 
unavoidable  care,  since  no  people  have  less  reason  to 
brood  over  the  calamities  of  life.  There  is  no  Cas- 
sius-like  discontent  to  lead  the  minds  of  men  into  plots 
and  treasons ;  for,  from  the  time  I  entered  the  coun 
try  to  the  present  moment,  amidst  the  utmost  latitude 
of  political  discussion,  I  have  not  heard  even  a  whis 
per  against  the  great  leading  principles  of  the  gov 
ernment.* 

In  despair  of  ever  arriving  at  the  solution  of  doubts 
which  so  completely  baffled  all  conjecture  and  expe- 

*  The  author  will  add,  nor  to  the  hour  of  his  departure.  The 
United  States  of  America  are,  perhaps,  the  only  country  in 
Christendom  where  political  disaffection  does  not  in  a  greater  or 
less  decree  prevail. 


COLDNESS  OF  MANNERS  ACCOUNTED  FOR.  169 

rience,  I  threw  myself  on  the  greater  observation  of 
Cadwallader  for  the  explanation  of  a  habit  which, 
the  more  I  reflected,  only  assumed  more  of  the  char 
acter  of  an  enigma.  His  answer  was  sufficiently  sen 
tentious,  though,  when  pressed  upon  the  subject,  he 
was  not  unwilling  to  support  it  by  reasons  that  cer 
tainly  are  rather  plausible,  if  not  just  To  the  question 
— "  To  what  do  you  ascribe  the  characteristic  grave 
demeanour  of  your  countrymen?"  the  reply  was, 
"  To  the  simplicity  of  common  sense  !"  This  was 
startling,  and  at  first,  perhaps,  a  little  offensive ;  but 
you  shall  have  his  reasons  in  his  own  words. 

"You  admit  yourself  that  the  peculiarity  which 
you  mention  is  solely  confined  to  manner.  The  host, 
the  friend,  the  man  of  business,  or  the  lady  in  her 
drawing-room,  who  receives  you  with  less  empresse< 
ment  than  you  have  been  accustomed  to  meet  else 
where,  omits  no  duty  or  material  act  of  kindness. 
While  each  seems  to  enter  less  into  the  interests  of 
your  existence,  not  one  of  them  is  selfishly  engaged 
in  the  exclusive  pursuits  of  his  own. 

"While  the  Americans  have  lived  in  the  centre 
of  the  moral  world,  their  distance  from  Europe,  and 
their  scattered  population,  have  kept  them,  as  re 
spects  association,  in  comparative  retirement.  They 
have  had  great  leisure  for  reflection.  Even  England, 
which  has  so  long  and  so  richly  supplied  us  with 
food  for  the  mind,  labours  under  a  mental  disadvan 
tage  which  is  not  known  here.  Her  artificial  and 
aged  institutions  require  the  prop  of  concerted  opin 
ions,  which,  if  it  be  not  fatal  to  change,  have  at  least 
acquired  an  influence  that  it  is  thought  dangerous  to 
disturb.  In  America,  no  such  restraint  has  ever 
been  laid  on  the  human  mind,  unless  it  might  be 
through  the  ordinary  operation  of  passing  prejudices. 
But  those  prejudices  have  always  been  limited  in 
their  duration,  and  have  never  possessed  the  impoi> 
Q 


170    COLDNESS  OF  MANNERS  ACCOUNTED  FOR. 

tant  prerogative  of  exclusive  reverence.  Men  com 
bated  them  at  will,  and  generally  with  impunity, 
Even  the  peculiar  maxims  of  the  monarchy  came  to 
us,  across  the  Atlantic,  weakened  by  distance  and 
obnoxious  to  criticism.  They  were  assailed,  shaken, 
and  destroyed. 

"  Thought  is  the  inevitable  fruit  of  a  state  of  being 
where  the  individual  is  thus  permitted  to  enjoy  the 
best  effects  of  the  highest  civilization,  with  as  little  as 
possible  of  its  disadvantages.  I  should  have  said 
thought  itself  was  the  reason  of  that  gravity  you  ob 
serve,  did  1  not  believe  it  is  more  true  to  ascribe  it 
to  the  nearest  approximate  quality  in  which  that 
thought  is  exhibited.  When  there  is  much  leisure, 
and  all  the  other  means  to  reflect  on  life,  apart  from 
those  temptations  which  hurry  us  into  its  vortex,  the 
mind  is  not  slow  to  strip  it  of  its  gloss,  and  to  arrive 
at  truths  that  lie  so  near  the  surface.  The  result  has 
been,  in  America,  to  establish  common  sense  as  the 
sovereign  guide  of  the  public  will.  In  the  possession 
of  this  quality,  the  nation  is  unrivalled.  It  tempers 
its  religion,  its  morals,  its  politics,  and  finally,  as  in 
the  case  in  question,  its  manners.  The  first  is  equally 
without  bigotry  or  licentiousness ;  the  second  are 
generally  consistent  and  sound ;  the  third  are  purely 
democratic  without  the  slightest  approach  to  disor 
der  ;  and  the  last  are,  as  you  see  them,  less  attractive 
to  you,  perhaps,  because  unusual ;  but  more  in  con 
sonance  with  common  sense  than  your  own,  inas 
much  as  they  fail  of  an  exaggeration  which  our  reason 
would  condemn.  Many  nations  excel  us  in  the  arts, 
but  none  in  the  truths  of  human  existence.  The  for 
mer  constitute  the  poetry  of  life,  and  they  are  desir 
able  so  far  as  they  temper  society ;  but  when  they 
possess  it  to  the  exclusion  of  still  nobler  objects,  their 
dominion  is  dangerous,  and  may  easily  become  fatal. 
Like  all  other  pursuits  in  which  the  imagination 


COLDNESS  OF  MANNERS  ACCOUNTED  TOR.    171 

predominates,  they  have  a  tendency  to  diminish  the 
directness  with  which  reason  regards  every  thing  that 
appertains  to  our  nature. 

"Although  there  is  nothing  incompatible  between 
perfect  political  freedom  and  high  rational  refine 
ment,  there  is  certainly  a  greater  addiction  to  factitious 
complaisance  in  a  despotism  than  in  a  republic.  The 
artificial  deference  which,  in  the  former,  is  exacted 
by  him  who  rules,  descends  through  all  the  gradations 
of  society,  until  its  tone  becomes  imparted  to  an  en 
tire  nation.  I  think  it  will  be  found,  by  referring  to 
Europe,  that  manners,  though  certainly  modified  by 
national  temperament  and  other  causes,  have  become 
artificial  in  proportion  as  the  sovereign  power  has 
exercised  its  influence.  Though  France,  under  the 
old  regime,  was  not  in  theory  more  monarchical  than 
many  of  the  adjoining  countries,  the  monarch,  in  fact, 
filled  a  greater  space  in  the  public  mind.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  find  any  other  nation  in  which  sacrifices 
so  heavy,  indeed,  it  may  be  said,  so  fatal,  were  daily 
and  hourly  made  to  appearances,  as  under  the  reign 
of  Louis  XIV.  They  were  only  the  more  dangerous, 
inasmuch  as  the  great  advancement  of  the  nation 
made  the  most  gifted  men  auxiliary  to  the  propagation 
of  deception.  The  part  which  Racine  with  his  piety, 
Boileau  with  his  wit,  and  even  Fontaine  with  his 
boasved  simplicity,  did  not  disdain  to  play,  humbler 
men  might  well  desire  to  imitate.  The  consequences 
of  this  factitious  tone  in  manners  prevail  to  the  present 
day  in  France,  which,  notwithstanding  her  vast  im 
provements,  has  yet  a  great  deal  to  concede  to  the 
immutable  and  sacred  empire  of  truth,  before  either 
religion,  government,  or  morals,  shall  reach  that 
degree  of  perfection  which  each  and  all  may  hor>e  to 
attain.  However  agreeable  habitual  deference  to 
forms  may  become,  the  pleasure  is  bought  too  dearly, 
when  a  just  knowledge  of  ourselves,  deceptive  views 
of  life,  or  even  of  sacred  liberty  itself,  may  be  the 


172    COLDNESS  OF  MANNERS  ACCOUNTED  FOR. 

price.  I  should  cite  America  as  furnishing  the  very 
reverse  of  this  proposition.  Here,  without  pretend 
ing  to  any  infallibility  of  judgment,  all  matters  are 
mooted  with  the  most  fearless  indifference  of  the 
consequences.  In  the  tossings  and  agitations  of  the 
public  opinion,  the  fine  and  precious  grains  of  truth 
gradually  get  winnowed  from  the  chaff  of  empiricism 
and  interestedness,  and,  to  pursue  the  figure,  literally 
become  the  mental  aliment  of  the  nation.  After  the 
mind  is  thoroughly  imbued  with  healthful  moral 
truths,  it  admits  the  blandishments  and  exaggerations 
of  conventional  politeness  with  great  distrust,  and 
not  unfrequently  with  distaste.  When  the  principle 
is  pushed  into  extremes,  men  become  Trappists,  and 
Puritans,  and  Quakers.  Now,  in  this  respect,  every 
American,  taken  of  course  with  the  necessary  allow 
ances,  is,  more  or  less,  a  Puritan.  He  will  not  tell 
you  he  is  enchanted  to  see  you,  when,  in  truth,  he  is 
perfectly  indifferent  to  the  matter ;  his  thoughts  are 
too  direct  for  so  gross  a  deception.  Although  he  may 
not  literally  mean  what  he  says,  he  means  something 
much  nearer  to  it  than  one  meets  with  in  what  is 
called  good  society  any  where  else. 

"  The  native  of  New-England  has  certainly  more 
of  this  peculiar  exterior  than  the  native  of  any  other 
part  of  our  country.  This  difference  is  unquestionably 
a  result  of  the  manners  of  the  Puritans.  But  you  are 
right  in  believing  that  it  is,  more  or  less,  to  be  seen 
in  the  air  of  most  Americans;  perhaps  of  all.  with 
the  exception  of  those  who  have  lived  from  infancy 
in  what  is  called  the  most  polished,  which  of  itself 
implies  the  most  artificial  circles. 

"  A  great  deal  of  this  exterior  is  also  hereditary. 
The  Englishman  is  the  man  of  the  coldest  aspect  in 
Europe,  when  you  compare  his  ordinary  tempera 
ment  with  his  deportment.  Has  not  the  Englishman 
a  sounder  view  of  life  than  any  other  man  in  your 
hemisphere  '(  If  not.  he  has  been  singularly  fortunate 


COLDNESS  OF  MANNERS  ACCOUNTED  FOR.    173 

in  preceding  all  his  competitors  in  the  enjoyment 
of  its  most  material  advantages. 

"  France  has  been  proverbial  for  grace  of  manner. 
But  the  manners  of  France  are  undergoing  a  sensible 
change,  under  the  influence  of  the  new  order  of 
things.  Her  gentlemen  are  becoming  grave  as  they 
become  thoughtful.  Any  one  may  observe,  in  pass 
ing  through  French  society,  the  difference  between 
the  two  schools.  I  confess  that  my  taste  is  for  the 
modern.  I  have  been  so  much  accustomed  to  the 
simplicity  of  American  manners,  as  to  find  something 
that  is  congenial  in  the  well-bred  English,  that  is 
wanting  in  the  well-bred  French  deportment,  and 
precisely  for  the  reason  that  it  is  still  a  little  more 
natural.  So  far  as  this  distinction  goes,  I  honestly 
believe  the  Englishman  has  the  advantage.  But, 
with  honourable  exceptions,  it  will  not  do  to  push 
English  complaisance  too  far.  Perhaps,  if  we  at 
tempt  a  comparison,  I  shall  be  better  understood. 

"  The  Englishman  and  the  American  have,  in  a 
great  degree,  a  common  manner.  I  do  not  now 
speak  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  two  countries,  for 
much  intercourse  is  rapidly  assimilating  the  class 
every  where,  but  of  the  deportment  of  the  two  entire 
nations.  You  will  find  both  cold.  There  is  certainly 
no  great  difference  in  the  men,  though  more  may  be 
observed  in  the  wromen.  The  English  say  that  our 
women  are  much  too  cold,  and  we  say  that  theirs  are 
artificial  without  always  being  graceful.  Of  course, 
I  speak  of  the  mass,  and  not  of  exceptions  in  either 
case.  Our  women  are,  as  you  see,  eminently  femi 
nine,  in  air,  conversation,  and  feeling,  and  they  are 
also  eminently  natural.  You  may  find  them  cold,  for, 
to  be  honest,  they  find  you  a  little  artificial ;  but, 
with  their  countrymen,  they  are  frank,  sincere,  unre 
served  and  natural,  while  I  challenge  the  world  to 
produce  finer  instances  of  genuine,  shrinking  delicacy, 
or  of  greater  feminine  propriety. 
Q2 


174    COLDNESS  OF  MANNERS  ACCOUNTED  FOR. 

"  The  French  gentleman  has  certainly  one  advan 
tage  over  his  island  neighbour.  He  is  uniformly 
polite ;  his  conventional  habits  having  apparently 
gotten  the  better  of  all  his  native  humours.  You  are 
sure,  so  far  as  manner  is  concerned,  of  finding  him 
to-morrow  as  you  left  him  to-day.  There  may  be 
some  question  on  this  point  with  the  Englishman,  out 
none  with  the  American.  Common  sense  is  quite  as 
equal  as  good-breeding.  The  American  gentleman 
is  less  graceful  than  the  Frenchman,  and  maybe  even 
less  conventional  in  his  air  than  the  Englishman,  but 
he  is  commonly  gravely  considerate  of  the  feelings. 
Were  he  disposed  to  abuse  his  situation,  his  country 
men  would  not  tolerate  his  airs.  I  have  already  told 
you  that  humanity  is  a  distinctive  feature  of  Amer 
ican  intercourse,  The  men  of  secondary  manners 
may  be  more  subdued  in  air  than  those  of  Europe, 
but  it  is  altogether  confined  to  appearance.  No  man 
is  kinder  in  all  his  feelings  or  habits.* 

"  But  this  digression  is  leading  me  from  what  you 
call  the  peculiar  coldness  of  the  American  manner. 
The  word  is  not  well  chosen,  since  coldness  implies 
a  want  of  feeling,  and  want  of  feeling  cannot  exist 
where  every  concession  is  made  to  humanity,  except 
m  words  and  looks.  Mr.  Hodgson  says,  he  does  not 
think  the  habit  of  which  he  complains  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  better  classes  of  the  men,  though  he  appears, 


*  The  writer  landed  in  England,  on  his  return  to  Europe. 
Curiosity  led  him  to  the  gallery  of  the  House  of  Commons  The 
member  on  the  floor  was  a  stranger  to  him.  A  well-dressed 
man  stood  at  his  elbow,  and  he  ventured  to  ask  him  if  he  knew 
who  was  speaking.  "  No,"  was  the  answer,  and  it  was  given 
with  an  elevation  and  a  peculiar  sententiousness  of  voice  which 
cannot  be  committed  to  paper.  The  writer  was  induced  to 
repeat  the  experiment,  simply  as  an  experiment,  four  times,  and 
always  with  the  same  success,  except  that  in  the  last  instance  he 
obtained  the  name,  but  in  a  note  pitched  in  the  same  key.  He 
is  bold  to  say,  that  the  coldest  looking  man  in  America  would 
have  answered  in  a  tone  of  more  "civilization" 


COLDNESS  OF  MANNERS  ACCOUNTED  FOR.    175 

unwillingly  enough  too,  to  admit,  that  the  females  are 
not  quite  so  free  from  the  charge.  Mr.  Hodgson,  it 
will  be  remembered,  was  a  bachelor,  and  he  ought 
to  have  known  that  this  is  a  class  of  men  far  less  in 
demand  in  America  than  in  England  Without  ap 
pearing  to  make  the  smallest  allowance  for  the  mo 
mentary  warmth  that  is  always  excited  by  countrymen 
meeting  in  a  foreign  land,  he  puts  the  seeming  cordi 
ality  of  the  wives  of  certain  English  soldiers  whom 
he  met  at  Niagara,  in  strong  contrast  with  the  cold 
demeanour  of  the  wives  of  the  thousands  of  Ameri 
cans  whom  he  had  just  left.  This  gentleman  does 
not  pretend  that  there  was  actually  more  of  feeling 
in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other;  he  seems  perfectly 
willing  to  ascribe  the  difference  to  its  true  cause,  viz., 
a  simple  difference  in  manner.  Just  to  this  extent  1 
admit  the  justice  of  his  remark,  and  I  have  endeav 
oured  to  give  you  some  reasons  for  its  existence. 
One  would  not  gather  from  the  book  of  Mr.  Hodgson, 
rational  and  candid  as  it  is,  that  the  author  had  ever 
seen  many  countries  besides  his  own ;  if  he  has,  he 
must  be  aware  that  the  air  and  manner  of  a  French 
paysanne  would  still  be  more  likely  to  flatter  his  self- 
complacency  than  the  cordiality  of  the  soldiers'  wives. 
It  would  not  be  difficult  for  you  and  me  to  quote  still 
stronger  instances  of  the  extent  to  which  this  manner 
is  carried  among  different  people,  and  people,  too, 
who  have  no  very  extraordinary  reputation  either  for 
morals  or  civilization. 

"  I  think  it  will  be  found,  too,  on  reflection,  that 
the  subdued  manner  (the  word  is  more  just  than  cold) 
of  the  Americans,  is  more  owing  to  the  simple  and 
common  sense  habit  they  have  of  viewing  things,  than 
even  to  rusticity,  or  indeed  to  any  other  cause.  It 
cannot  be  the  former,  since  it  is  to  be  traced  among 
those  who  have  passed  their  lives  in  the  most  polished 
intercourse  in  the  cities  no  less  than  in  the  country, 
and  amid  elegance  as  well  as  rural  simplicity.  While 


176        COLDNESS  OF  MANNERS  ACCOUNTED  FOR. 

we  have  very  few  certainly  who  devote  their  leisure 
to  the  exclusive  cultivation  of  the  mere  refinements 
of  life,  there  is  perhaps  a  smaller  degree  of  rustic 
awkwardness  in  the  country  than  can  be  found  among 
an  equal  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  any  other 
nation.  The  very  quality  which  keeps  down  the 
superfluous  courtesy  of  the  upper,  has  an  agency  in 
elevating  the  manners  of  the  lower  classes  who,  con 
sidering  their  situations,  are  at  all  times  surprisingly 
self-possessed  and  at  their  ease.  A  far  more  just  ob 
jection  to  the  social  usages  of  the  Americans,  might 
be  discovered  in  the  rough  and  hardy  manner  in  which 
they  support  their  opinions,  than  in  this  absence  of 
assumed  cordiality.  The  latter,  though  it  may  be 
come  necessary  by  indulgence,  can,  after  all,  only 
impose  upon  a  novice,  whereas  the  former  may  easily 
become  offensive,  without  in  the  slightest  degree  ad 
vancing  what  they  urge.  But  it  is  so  difficult,  and 
even  so  dangerous,  to  say  how  far  courtesy  shall 
infringe  on  truth,  that  one  can  tolerate  a  little  incon 
venience  to  favour  the  latter;  and  depend  on  it, 
though  the  practice  is  often  excessively  unpleasant  in 
the  individual  (and  much  oftener  here  than  in  Eu 
rope),  it  is  a  sound,  healthful,  national  failing,  that 
purchases  great  good  at  a  small  price." 

I  shall  make  no  comments  on  the  opinions  of  my 
friend.  There  is,  however,  one  thing  that  may  be 
said  on  the  subject  which  will  go  to  prove  the  justice 
of  his  theory.  There  is,  at  least,  nothing  conventional 
in  this  coldness  of  manner  of  his  countrymen.  Men 
do  not  admit  it  as  a  part  of  their  gentility ;  but  it  has 
altogether  the  air  of  being  either  the  effect  of  their 
national  temperament,  or,  as  Cadwallader  would 
prove,  of  habits  that  proceed  from  a  reflection  so 
general  and  uniform,  as  to  have  perfectly  acquired 
the  simplicity  and  force  of  nature.  I  think  also  that 
he  has  not  laid  sufficient  stress  on  the  effect  of  repub 
lican  institutions  and  the  want  of  a  court ;  but  one 


FEELING    FOR    LA    FAYETTE.  177 

cannot  expect  so  thorough  a  democrat  to  speak  with 
much  reverence  of  the  latter.  He  has  explained  that, 
by  the  prevalence  of  "  common  sense,"  he  does  not 
mean  that  every  man  in  America  is  wise  enough  to 
discriminate  between  the  substance  and  the  shadow 
of  things,  but  that  so  many  are,  as  to  have  given  a 
tone  to  the  general  deportment  of  the  whole :  a  case 
that  may  very  well  exist  in  a  reading  and  instructed 
nation.  * 


TO  THE  COUNT  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 


New-York, 

FROM  the  hour  that  we  landed  in  America,  to  the 
present  moment,  the  voices  of  men,  the  journals,  and 
the  public  bodies,  have  been  occupied  in  celebrating 
the  work  of  national  gratitude.  The  visit  of  La 
Fayette,  his  ancient  services,  his  appearance,  his 
sayings,  his  tact,  his  recollection  of,  and  meeting  with 
veterans  whom  he  had  known  under  other  and  more 
adverse  circumstances,  are  the  constant  themes  of 
press  and  tongue.  The  universal  sentiment,  and  the 
various  scenes  to  which  it  has  given  birth,  have  not 
failed  to  elicit  many  sparks  of  that  sort  of  feeling 
which  is  creditable  to  human  nature,  since  it  proves 
that  man,  with  all  his  selfishness  and  depravity,  is  the 
repository  of  a  vast  deal  that  is  generous  and  noble. 
Two  or  three  little  anecdotes  have  come  to  my  ears 
that  may  serve  to  amuse,  if  not  to  edify  you. 

One  of  the  familiar,  and  certainly  not  the  least 
touching  manners,  chosen  by  the  Americans,  to  evince 
their  attachment  to  La  Fayette,  who  has  been  well 


178  ANECDOTE, 

termed  the  "  nation's  guest,"  is  by  making  offerings 
of  the  labours  of  their  own  hands,  in  the  shape  of  a 
thousand  trifling  articles  that  may  affect  his  personal 
comfort,  or  at  least  manifest  their  zeal  in  its  behalf 
Among  others,  it  seems  that  a  hatter  had  even  gone 
so  far  as  to  send  a  hat,  or  hats,  to  France,  as  his  por 
tion  of  these  little  contributions.  This  kindness  was 
remembered,  and  a  short  time  after  their  arrival, 
M.  George  La  Fayette  went  to  the  shop  of  the  indi 
vidual,  and  ordered  a  supply  for  himself.  The  hat 
was  furnished  as  a  matter  of  course,  with  the  direct 
ness  and  simplicity  that  characterize  these  people. 
The  next  thing  was  to  demand  the  bill ;  for  you  will 
readily  understand  that  the  motive  of  M.  La  Fayette, 
was  to  patronize  a  tradesman  who  had  been  so  at 
tentive  to  his  father.  "  I  was  paid  forty  years  ago 
for  all  the  hats  I  can  make  for  any  of  the  family  of 
La  Fayette,"  was  the  answer. 

A  gentleman,  who,  from  former  acquaintance  and 
his  situation  in  life,  is  much  around  the  person  of  the 
General,  has  related  another  instance  of  the  deep  and 
nearly  filial  interest  that  is  taken  in  his  comfort,  by  all 
classes  of  the  citizens.  It  is  well  known  that  in  com 
mon  with  so  many  others,  the  fortune  of  La  Fayette 
suffered  by  the  changes  in  France,  no  less  than  by 
his  own  sacrifices.  This  circumstance  had,  as  usual, 
been  exaggerated,  until  an  impression  has  obtained 
among  many  of  the  less  informed,  that  he  is  actually 
subjected  to  personal  privations.  Their  c  guest'  ap 
peared  among  the  Americans  simply  clad,  in  a  coat 
of  black,  which  was  not  of  a  particularly  fine  fabric, 
and  with  other  habiliments  equally  plain.  Now,  it 
so  happens,  that  the  American  who  is  the  least  above 
the  labouring  classes,  habitually  wears  a  finer  cloth 
than  the  corresponding  classes  even  in  England,  with 
perhaps  an  exception  in  favour  of  the  very  highest 
in  the  latter  country.  This  peculiarity  in  the  attire 
of  La  Fayette,  struck  the  eye  of  a  mechanic,  who  did 


LA  FAYETTE  RETURNS  FROM  BOSTON.     179 

not  fail  to  ascribe  it  to  a  want  of  means.  He  sought 

an  opportunity  to  confer  with  Colonel ,  from 

whose  mouth  I  have  the  anecdote,  and  after  a  little 
embarrassment  arid  circumlocution,  explained  his  ob 
ject.  "  I  see,  Colonel ,  that  our  friend  has  not 

as  good  a  coat  as  he  ought  to  wear,  and  I  think  he 
should  be  fne  best  dressed  man  in  America.  You 
know  very  well  that  I  am  nothing  but  a  plain  me 
chanic,  and  that  I  should  not  know  what  to  say  to  a 
man  like  La  Fayette  in  such  a  case  as  this ;  but  you 
are  a  gentleman,  and  can  smooth  the  thing  over  as 
it  should  be,  and  I'll  thank  you  just  to  get  him  a  suit 
of  the  best,  in  any  way  you  please,  and  then  the  bill 
can  be  given  to  me,  and  nothing  further  shall  ever  be 
said  of  the  matter." 

I  might  fill  a  volume  with  similar  instances  of  at 
tachment  and  affection,  with  addresses,  processions 
and  ceremonies,  which  have  occurred  since  the  re 
ception  of  the  veteran  Frenchman,  amongst  these 
usually  quiet  and  rarely  excited  people.  A  brief 
description  of  a  fete  at  which  I  was  present,  and 
which  is,  in  some  measure,  connected  with  my  own 
movements,  must,  however,  suffice  for  the  present 
I  shall  describe  it  both  for  its  peculiar  nature,  and 
because  it  may  serve  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the 
taste,  manners,  and  appearance  of  the  Americans,  in 
similar  scenes. 

At  the  return  of  La  Fayette  from  his  excursion  to 
Boston,  the  citizens  of  New- York  determined  to  en- 
tertain  him  in  their  collective  capacity.  He  had  been 
feasted  by  corporate  bodies  innumerable;  but  this 
ball  was  to  be  given  by  subscription,  and  to  include 
as  many  of  all  the  different  classes  of  society,  as  could 
well  assemble  in  the  place  chosen  for  its  celebration. 
That  spot  was  the  abandoned  fortress  already  men 
tioned  by  the  name  of  the  Castle  Garden,  as  the  place 
where  he  landed.  The  castle,  you  will  remember, 
stands  on  an  artificial  island,  a  few  hundred  feet  from 


180        ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  THE  FETE. 

the  promenade,  that  is  called  the  Battery.  The 
work  itself  is  a  building  of  dark  red  freestone,  almost 
circular,  and  I  should  think  near  two  hundred  feet  in 
diameter.  Most  of  this  space  is  occupied  by  the  area 
in  the  centre,  the  work  itself  being  little  more  than  a 
covered  battery,  which  by  subsequent  changes  has 
been  transformed  into  alcoves,  and  has  a  fine  terrace 
or  rather  belvidere,  around  the  whole  of  its  summit 
A  tall  spar  was  raised  in  the  centre  of  the  area,  and 
a  vast  awning  was  constructed  of  the  sails  of  a  ship 
of  the  line,  to  cover  the  whole.  The  interior  side 
of  this  awning  was  concealed  by  flags,  arranged  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  give  a  soft,  airy  finish  to  the 
wide  vault,  and  a  roof  that  inclined  inwards  from 
the  ramparts  for  a  little  distance  was  covered  with 
gradins,  like  the  seats  of  an  amphitheatre.  Thus  the 
interior  might  be  said  to  be  divided  into  several  parts. 
There  was  the  great  salle,  or  the  area  of  the  garden  9 
the  immense,  low,  vaulted,  circular  corridor,  within 
the  work  ;  the  gradins,  a  little  below  the  belvidere? 
supported  by  pillars,  and  the  belvidere  itself,  all  be 
neath  the  awning.  In  addition  to  these,  on  the  side 
of  the  castle  next  the  city,  is  a  range  of  apartments* 
some  of  which  have  been  added  since  the  new  des 
tination  of  the  building,  and  are  on  a  scale  suited  to 
its  present  uses. 

Cadwallader  procured  tickets  for  us  both,  and  at 
ten  o'clock  we  proceeded  to  the  centre  of  attraction. 
Two  of  the  principal  streets  of  the  city  terminate 
near  each  other  directly  in  face  of  the  castle  garden. 
The  carriages  entered  the  battery  (the  promenade) 
by  one,  and  left  it  by  the  other.  Temporary  fences 
were  erected  to  keep  the  coachmen  in  the  line  after 
they  had  arrived  on  the  mall.  I  can  say  with  truth, 
that  I  never  knew  a  company  set  down  and  taken  up 
with  more  facility  and  order.  You  will  recollect 
there  were  six  thousand  guests,  a  number  that  is 
rarely  exceeded  at  any  European  entertainment  The 


ORDER  IN  SOCIETY  WITHOUT  PRECEDENCY.      181 

quiet  which  prevailed,  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  estab 
lished  orders  in  society  are  not  at  all  necessary,  at 
least,  for  the  tranquillity  of  its  ordinary  intercourse. 
There  were  no  gensd'armes,  though  I  was  told  some 
police  officers  were  present,  and  yet  I  saw  no  at 
tempts  to  break  the  line,  or  any  other  instances  of 
those  impertinences,  with  which  coachmen  with  us 
are  apt  to  emulate  what  they  conceive  to  be  the  im 
portance  of  their  masters.  Indeed,  all  my  experience 
goes  to  show,  that  the  simplest  way  of  destroying  the 
bickerings  and  heart-burnings  of  precedency  and 
rank,  is  to  destroy  their  usages  altogether.  No  doubt 
human  nature  is  just  as  active  among  these  republic 
ans,  as  it  is  in  England  or  in  Germany,  and  that  A. 
secretly  envies  or  derides  the  claims  of  B. ;  but  it 
would  be  perfectly  absurd  in  either  of  the  parties  to 
permit  a  public  exposure  of  their  pretensions,  since 
the  world  would  be  very  apt  to  tell  them  both,  the 
distinction  you  enjoy  is  only  by  sufferance,  and  dig 
nified  and  quiet  behaviour  is  one  requisite  for  its 
possession  at  all  Thus,  you  see,  however  rancorous 
may  be  the  rivalry,  third  parties  are  at  all  events 
spared  the  exhibition  of  its  folly.  But  this  truth  is 
abundantly  proved  in  the  saloons  of  your  own  fasci 
nating  metropolis,  where  one  is  daily  elbowed  by 
peers,  without  being  the  least  conscious  of  the  hon 
ours  he  is  receiving,  and  where  society  is  kept  so 
perfectly  and  so  admirably  distinct  from  government. 
We  alighted  at  the  bridge  which  connects  the  island 
to  the  battery.  By  the  aid  of  awnings,  carpets  and 
other  accessories,  this  passage,  over  which  armed 
heels  had  so  often  trod,  and  lumbering  wheels  rum 
bled  with  their  groaning  loads  of  artillery,  was  con 
verted  into  a  long,  and  prettily  decorated  gallery. 
The  light  was  judiciously  kept  down,  so  as  to  give 
the  entrance  a  subdued  and  pleasing,  and  a  strikingly 
romantic  effect.  You  caught,  in  passing,  glimpses  of 
the  water,  and  heard  its  quiet  washing  in  dull  con- 
R 


182  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FETE. 

trast  to  the  strains  of  distant  music.  Steam-boats 
were  landing  the  guests  by  hundreds,  on  the  narrow 
terrace  which  surrounds  the  base  of  the  castle,  and  a 
never-ceasing  current  of  gaily  dressed  and  graceful 
beings  were  gliding  from  out  the  darkness  on  either 
hand,  or  along  the  gallery,  towards  a  flood  of  light 
which  was  shed  through  the  massive  frowning  portal 
of  the  fortress,  as  a  sort  of  beacon  to  direct  our  foot 
steps.  Such  a  sight  was  not  likely  to  fail  of  its  effect 
on  one  as  weakly  constituted  as  myself,  dear  Jules, 
and  abandoning  the  pensive  and  deliberative  step 
with  which  I  had  loitered  to  contemplate  the  pecu 
liar  and  pleasing  approach  to  the  scene,  I  hastened 
on  to  plunge  at  once  into  its  gayest  vortex.  I  know 
not  whether  it  was  owing  to  the  contrast  between 
the  judicious  gloom  of  the  romantic  gallery  and  the 
brilliant  salle,  to  the  magnitude  of  that  salle,  or  to 
the  fact  that  with  European  complaisance  I  had 
expected  no  very  imposing  exhibition  of  taste  and 
splendour  among  these  people,  but,  certain  is  it,  that, 
though  far  from  unaccustomed,  as  you  well  know,  to 
fetes  and  spectacles,  I  never  entered  one  whose  coup 
d'ceil  produced  an  effect  like  this.  As  we  hurried 
towards  the  gate  in  hundreds,  (for  two  or  three  steam 
boats  had  just  discharged  their  living  cargoes),  I  had 
been  seized  with  a  very  natural  apprehension,  that 
the  whole  was  to  terminate  in  one  of  those  well- 
dressed  throngs  in  which  it  would  be  impossible  to 
see,  hear,  converse,  dance,  or,  in  short,  to  be  alive 
to  any  other  sensations  than  those  of  excessive  heat, 
ennui,  and,  perhaps,  a  head-ache.  But  though  so 
many  poured  along  the  approaches,  like  water  gush 
ing  through  some  narrow  passage,  the  rush,  the  crowd, 
ind  the  inconvenience  ceased  as  you  entered  the 
principal  space,  like  the  tumult  of  that  element  sub 
siding  as  it  emerges  into  a  broad  basin.  There  were, 
probably,  five  thousand  persons  in  the  salle  when  we 
entered,  and  yet  there  was  abundant  room  for  all  the 


IMMENSE    ASSEMBLY APPEARANCE,  ETC.        183 

usual  pursuits  of  such  an  assembly.  Some  thirty, 
or  forty,  or  fifty,  sets  of  quadrilles  were  in  graceful 
motion,  hundreds  were  promenading  around  the  dan 
cers,  and,  literally,  thousands  were  hanging  over  them 
on  the  belvidere  and  among  the  gradins,  looking  down 
with  the  complacency  of  those  benignant  beings  to 
whom  poets  give  a  habitation  in  the  clouds. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  saying  much  for  the  self-posses 
sion  of  two  travellers  who  had  passed  through  so 
many  similar  scenes,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  strictly 
true,  that  both  Cadwallader  and  myself,  instead  of 
passing  on  with  suitable  deference  to  the  rest  of  the 
guests,  came  to  a  dead  halt  on  the  threshold  of  this 
scene,  and  stood,  near  a  minute,  gazing  around  us  and 
upwards,  with  wonder.  We  had,  however,  the  con 
solation  to  discover  that  we  were  not  alone  in  our 
underbred  surprise,  for  a  hundred  pretty  exclama 
tions  that  escaped  prettier  lips,  and  the  immense 
pressure  of  the  crowd  at  the  spot  where  our  steps 
had  been  arrested,  apprised  us  that  the  sensation  was 
common  to  all.  Escaping  from  this  throng,  we  had 
leisure  to  study  the  details  which  had  produced  so 
imposing  a  tout-ensemble. 

An  immense  cloud  of  flags,  composed  of  all  the 
colours  of  the  rainbow  intermingled,  was  waving 
gently  in  the  upper  air,  shadowing  the  area  at  an 
elevation  of  not  less  than  seventy  feet.  The  enor 
mous  spar  which  supported  this  canopy  of  ensigns 
had  been  converted  into  the  shaft  of  an  immense 
lustre,  whose  several  parts  were  composed  of  entire 
chandeliers.  From  these  were  streaming  the  floods 
of  noon-day  light  which  gave  to  the  centre  of  the  salle 
its  extraordinary  brilliancy,  while  countless  shaded 
and  coloured  lamps  shed  a  fainter  and  softer  glow  on 
those  parts  of  the  scene  which  taste  and  contrast 
required  to  be  kept  down.  Directly  in  front  of  the 
entrance  was  a  double  flight  of  steps  (one  of  half  a 
dozen  which  led  to  the  gradins  and  the  belvidere). 


184  LA  FAYETTE HIS  ENTRANCE  AND  RECEPTION 

Beneath  this  double  flight,  a  marquee  of  the  dimen 
sions  of  a  small  chamber  had  been  arranged  for  the 
particular  reception  of  the  guest.  It  was  gaily  deco 
rated;  containing  a  supper-table,  sofas,  9  chandelier, 
and,  in  short,  all  the  garniture  of  a  separate  room. 
The  curtains  were  withdrawn  in  such  a  manner,  that 
any  who  chose  might  examine  its  interior.  Opposite 
to  this  again,  and  directly  over  the  portal,  was  the 
orchestra,  appended  to  the  side  of  the  building  which 
contained  the  eating  'apartments,  and  the  ordinary 
dwelling  of  the  place. 

Shortly  after  we  had  entered,  La  Fayette  arrived. 
The  music  changed  to  a  national  air,  the  gay  sets 
dissolved  as  by  a  charm,  and  the  dancers  who  had 
been  dispersed  over  the  floor  of  the  salle  formed  a 
lane,  whose  sides  were  composed  of  masses  that 
might  have  contained  two  thousand  eager  faces  each. 
Through  this  gay  multitude  the  old  man  slowly  pass 
ed,  giving  and  receiving  the  most  cordial  and  affec 
tionate  salutations  at  every  step.  I  had  not  seen  him 
since  his  departure  for  the  east.  But  though  the 
freshness  of  his  reception  was  past,  his  presence  had 
lost  none  of  its  influence.  To  me  he  appeared  some 
venerable  and  much  respected  head  of  a  vast  family, 
who  had  come  to  pass  an  hour  amid  their  innocent 
and  gay  revels.  He  was  laterally  like  a  father  among 
his  children. 

The  assemblage  was  composed  of  every  class  in 
the  country,  with  the  exception  of  those  perhaps  who 
are  compelled  to  seek  their  livelihood  by  positive 
bodily  labour.  Still  there  was  no  awkwardness  ap 
parent,  no  presumption  on  the  part  of  the  one,  nor 
any  arrogance  on  that  of  others.  All  passed  off 
simply,  harmoniously,  and  with  the  utmost  seeming 
enjoyment. 

My  friend,  who  is  very  universally  known,  was 
saluted  at  every  step  by  some  fair  one,  or  some  man, 
who,  to  the  eye  at  least,  had  the  port  and  bearing  of 


NATURE  OF  THE  COMPANY.          185 

a  gentleman.  "Who  is  that?"  I  asked  him,  after  he 
had  paused  an  instant  to  speak  to  a  young  couple 
who  were  promenading  the  room  together.  "  That 

is  young  and  his  bride.     He  has  recently 

returned  from  his  travels,  to  take  possession  of  a  fine 
estate,  which  has  descended  to  him  from  the  old 
Dutch  patricians  of  our  State,  and  to  marry  that 
sweet  creature  on  his  arm,  who  has  had  power 
enough  to  retain  her  influence  after  his  tour  through 
Europe,  and  who,  by-the-bye,  is  a  distant  cousin  of 
my  own."  "And  that?"  I  continued.  "A  city  poli 
tician,"  returned  Cadwallader,  smiling.  "  He  is  am 
bitious  of  ruling  his  ward,  though  a  man  of  family, 
fortune,  and  education ;  and  he  to  whom  he  has  just 
spoken  is  a  brazier,  and  is  his  rival,  and  often  too  with 
success.  This  grave-looking  man  in  black  is  a  state 
politician ;  and  he  who  is  lounging  with  those  ladies 
yonder,  is  one  of  the  meridian  of  Washington.  They 
are  all  connected,  and  act  in  concert,  and  yet  each 
keeps  his  proper  sphere  as  accurately  as  the  planets. 
Those  half  dozen  fashionable  looking  young  men  are 
the  sons  of  gentlemen,  and  he  who  speaks  to  them  in 
passing,  is  the  son  of  a  mechanic  who  is  in  their  em 
ploy.  They  are  probably  brother  officers  in  some 
militia  regiment."  "And  he  to  whom  you  have  just 
spoken  ?"  "  That  is  my  hatter,  and  a  very  good  one 
he  is  too.  Now  that  man,  in  common,  no  more  ex 
pects  to  associate  with  me,  or  to  mingle  in  my  ordi 
nary  recreations,  than  I  should,  to  sit  at  the  table  of 
the  king  of  France ;  and  yet  he  is  sensible,  discreet, 
and  in  many  things  well  informed.  Such  a  man 
would  neither  overlook  an  unnecessary  slight,  nor 
would  he  be  apt  to  presume  beyond  the  mark  between 
us  which  his  own  good  sense  will  be  sure  to  prescribe. 
He  knows  our  habits  are  different,  and  he  feels 
that  T  have  the  same  right  to  enjoy  mine,  that  he 
has  to  possess  his  own.  You  see  we  are  very  good 
R2 


186    AREA  OF  THE  CASTLE,  BAY,  AND  SCENE. 

friends,  and  yet  this  is  probably  the  first  time  we 
ever  met  in  the  same  company." 

In  this  manner  we  passed  through  the  crowd, 
until  we  had  gained  the  terrace.  Here  we  paused,  to 
take  a  more  deliberate  view  of  what  I  will  not  term 
an  assemblage,  for  its  adjuncts  and  peculiar  features 
strictly  entitle  it  to  be  called  a  prospect.  The  vast 
extent  of  the  salle  lent  an  air  of  magic  to  the  whole 
scene.  Slight,  delicate  beings*  seemed  to  be  floating 
beneath  us  at  a  distance  that  reduced  their  forms  to 
the  imaginary  size  of  fairies  ;  while  the  low,  softened 
music  aided  in  the  deception.  I  never  witnessed  a 
similar  effect  at  any  other  fete.  Even  the  glimpses 
that  were  here  and  there  caught  of  the  gloomy  re 
cesses,  in  which  artillery  had  formerly  frowned,  assist 
ed  in  lending  the  spectacle  a  character  of  its  own. 
The  side  curtains  of  the  canopy  were  raised  for  the 
admission  of  air,  and  one  had  only  to  turn  his  eyes 
from  the  dazzling  fairy  scene  within,  to  look  out 
upon  the  broad,  placid,  star-lit  bay,  which  washed 
the  foot  of  the  fortress.  I  lingered  on  this  spot  near 
an  hour,  experiencing  an  unsocial  delight  that  may 
seem  to  savour  of  the  humour  of  our  fraternity,  espe 
cially  when  one  remembers  the  numberless  tempta 
tions  to  descend  which  were  flitting  like  beings  of  the 
air  before  my  eyes.  But  a  crowd  of  sensations  and 
reflections  oppressed  me. 

Again  and  again  I  asked  myself  the  question,  if 
what  I  saw  were  true,  and  if  I  really  were  standing 
on  the  continent  of  Columbus.  Could  those  fair, 
graceful  creatures  be  the  daughters  and  wives  of  the 
mechanics  and  tradesmen  of  a  provincial  town  in 
North  America  ?  Perhaps,  dear  Bethizy,  it  was  as- 


*  The  delicacy  of  the  American  women  is  rather  peculiar.  It 
struck  the  writer  that  the  females  in  common  were  under  the  size 
of  middle  Europe,  and  the  men  rather  ovei. 


REFLECTIONS A  BACHELOR'S  CONFESSIONS.    187 

sailing  me  in  my  weakest  part ;  but  I  do  not  remem 
ber,  before  or  since,  ever  to  have  been  so  alive  to 
the  injustice  of  our  superficial  and  vague  notions  of 
this  country,  as  while  I  stood  gazing  down  on  some 
two  or  three  thousand  of  its  daughters,  who  were 
not  only  attending,  but  actually  adorning  such  a 
scene  as  this.  Most  of  them  certainly  would  have 
been  abashed,  perhaps  gauche,  if  transported  into 
one  of  our  highly  artificial  coteries  ;  but,  believe  me, 
the  most  laboured  refinement  of  Europe  might  have 
learned,  in  this  identical,  motley,  republican  assem 
blage,  that  there  is  a  secret  charm  in  nature,  which 
it  may  be  sometimes  dangerous  to  attempt  to  super 
sede.  It  has  always  appeared  to  me,  that  manner  in 
a  woman  bears  a  strict  analogy  to  dress.  A  degree 
of  simple,  appropriate  embellishment  serves  alike  to 
adorn  the  graces  of  person  and  of  demeanour ;  but 
the  moment  a  certain  line  is  passed  in  either,  the  in 
dividual  becomes  auxiliary  to  the  addition,  instead  of 
the  addition  lending,  as  it  should,  a  grace  to  the  in 
dividual.  It  is  very  possible,  that,  if  one  woman 
wears  diamonds,  another  must  do  the  same  thing, 
until  a  saloon  shall  be  filled  with  the  contents  of  a 
jeweller's  shop  ;  but,  after  all,  this  is  rather  a  con 
test  between  bright  stones  than  bright  eyes.  What 
man  has  not  looked  a  thousand  times,  even  at  beauty, 
with  indifference,  when  it  has  been  smothered  by 
such  an  unnatural  alliance ;  but  what  man  has  ever 
met  beauty  in  its  native  attractions,  without  feeling 
her  power  influencing  his  inmost  soul  ?  I  speak  with 
no  dissembled  experience  when  I  answer — None ! 

I  think  the  females  of  the  secondary  classes  in  this 
country  dress  more,  and  those  of  the  upper,  less 
than  the  corresponding  castes  in  Europe.  The 
Americans  are  not  an  economical  people,  in  one 
sense,  though  instances  of  dissolute  prodigality  are 
exceedingly  rare  among  them.  A  young  woman  of 
the  middling  classes  for  instance,  seldom  gives  much 


188  DEPORTMENT  OF  AMERICAN  FEMALES. 

of  her  thoughts  towards  the  accumulation  of  a  little 
dowry ;  for  the  question  of  what  a  wife  will  bring  to 
the  common  stock  is  agitated  much  less  frequently 
here  than  in  countries  more  sophisticated.  My  com 
panion  assures  me  it  is  almost  unprecedented  for  a 
lover  to  venture  on  any  inquiries  concerning  the  for 
tune  of  his  fair  one,  even  in  any  class.  Those 
equivocal  admirers,  who  find  Cupid  none  the  less 
attractive  for  having  his  dart  gilded,  are  obliged  to 
make  their  demonstrations  with  singular  art  and  cau 
tion,  for  an  American  lady  would  be  very  apt  to  dis 
trust  the  affection  that  saw  her  charms  through  the 
medium  of  an  estate.  Indeed  he  mentioned  one  01 
two  instances  in  which  the  gentlemen  had  endeav 
oured  to  stipulate  in  advance  for  the  dowries  of  their 
brides,  and  which  had  not  only  created  a  great  deal 
of  scandal  in  the  coteries,  but  which  had  invariably 
been  the  means  of  defeating  the  matches  ;  the  father, 
or  the  daughter,  finding,  in  each  case,  something  par 
ticularly  offensive  in  the  proposition.  A  lady  of  re 
puted  fortune  is  a  little  more  certain  of  matrimony 
than  her  less  lucky  rival,  though  popular  opinion 
must  be  the  gage  of  her  possessions  until  the  lover 
can  claim  a  husband's  rights;  unless  indeed  the 
amorous  swain  should  possess,  as  sometimes  hap 
pens,  secret  and  more  authentic  sources  of  informa 
tion.  From  all  that  I  can  learn,  nothing  is  more 
common,  however,  than  for  young  men  of  great  ex 
pectations  to  connect  themselves  with  females,  com 
monly  of  their  own  condition  in  life,  who  are  penny- 
less  ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  for  ladies  to  give  their 
persons  with  one  or  two  hundred  thousand  dollars^ 
to  men,  who  have  nothing  better  to  recommend  them 
than  education  and  morals.  But  this  is  digressing 
from  my  immediate  subject. 

The  facility  with  which  the  fabrics  of  every  coun 
try  in  the  world  are  obtained,  the  absence  of  care  on 
the  subject  of  the  future,  and  the  inherent  elevation 


COSTUME  OF  THE  LABOURING  CLASSES.    189 

of  character  which  is  a  natural  consequence  of  edu 
cation,  and  a  consciousness  of  equal  rights,  cause  all 
the  secondary  classes  of  this  country  to  assume  more 
of  the  exterior  of  the  higher,  than  it  is  common  to  see 
with  us.  The  exceptions  must  be  sought  among  the 
very  poorest  and  most  depressed  members  of  the  com 
munity.  The  men,  who  are  nowhere  so  apt  at  imi 
tation  as  the  other  sex,  are  commonly  content  with 
garments  that  shall  denote  the  comfort  and  ease  of 
their  several  conditions  in  life,  but  the  females  are 
remarkable  for  a  more  aspiring  ambition.  Even  in 
the  country,  though  rusticity  and  a  more  awkward 
exterior  were  as  usual  to  be  seen,  I  looked  in  vain 
for  those  marked  and  peculiar  characteristics  of  dress 
and  air,  that  we  meet  in  every  part  of  Europe.  In 
but  one  instance  do  I  remember  to  have  seen  any 
number  either  of  men  or  women,  \vhose  habiliments 
conveyed  any  idea  of  provincia4  costume.  The  ex 
ception  was  among  the  inhabitants  of  a  little  Dutch 
village,  in  plain  view  of  this  city,  who  are  said  to 
retain  no  small  portion  of  the  prejudices  and  ig 
norance  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  whom 
the  merry  author  of  the  burlesque  history  of  New- 
York*  accuses  of  believing  they  are  still  subject  to 
the  power  of  the  United  Provinces.  As  respects  the 
whole  of  New-England,  I  saw  some  attempt  at  imi 
tating  the  fashion  of  the  day,  in  even  the  humblest 
individual,  though  the  essay  was  frequently  made  on 
a  material  no  more  promising  than  the  homely  pro 
duct  of  a  household  manufacture.  In  the  towns,  the 
efforts  were,  of  course,  far  more  successful,  and  I 
should  cite  the  union  of  individuality  of  air  with  con- 
formance  to  custom  as  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the 
women  of  the  lower  classes  here.  You  will  under 
stand  me  better  if  I  venture  on  that  dangerous  ex 
periment,  a  comparison.  A  griselte  of  Paris,  for 

*  Washington  Irving. 


190  THE    ATTIRE    OF    FEMALES. 

instance,  has  a  particularly  smart  and  conventional 
air,  though  her  attire  is  as  different  as  possible  from 
that  of  an  eltgante.  But  the  carriage,  the  demeanour 
and  the  expressions  of  one  Parisian  grisette,  is  as 
much  like  those  of  another  as  well  can  be.  Now  the 
fashion  of  the  attire,  and  not  unfrequently  the  material 
of  the  dress  of  an  American  girl  of  a  similar  class, 
differs  from  that  of  the  lady  only  in  quality,  and  per 
haps  a  little  in  the  air  in  which  it  is  worn.  As  you 
ascend  in  the  scale  of  society,  the  distinctions,  always 
excepting  those  delicate  shades  which  can  only  be 
acquired  by  constant  association  in  the  best  company, 
become  less  obvious,  until  it  requires  the  tact  of  breed 
ing  to  trace  them  at  all.  As  I  stood  regarding  the 
mixed  assembly  before  me,  I  had  the  best  possible 
illustration  of  the  truth  of  what  I  will  not  call  the 
levelling,  for  elevating  is  a  far  better  word,  effects  of 
the  state  of  society,  which  has  been  engendered  by  the 
institutions  and  the  great  abundance  of  this  country. 
Of  some  three  thousand  females  present,  not  a  sixth 
of  the  whole  number,  perhaps,  belonged  to  those 
classes  that,  in  Europe,  are  thought  to  have  any  claims 
to  compose  the  ilite  of  society.  And  yet  so  far  as 
air,  attire,  grace,  or  even  deportment,  were  concern 
ed,  it  must  have  been  a  sickly  and  narrow  taste  in 
deed  that  could  have  taken  exceptions.  Although  so 
far  removed  from  what  we  are  accustomed  to  con 
sider  the  world,  the  Americans,  in  general,  have  far 
less  of  what  is  called,  in  English,  the  manner  of  the 
'shop'  about  them,  than  their  kinsmen  of  England. 
These  peculiar  features  are  becoming  every  day  less 
striking  every  where  ;  but  Cadwallader  tells  me  they 
never  existed  in  America  at  all.  Few  men  are  so 
completely  limited  to  one  profession,  or  trade,  as  not 
to  possess  a  great  many  just  and  accurate  ideas  on 
other  subjects  ;  and  though  it  may  be  a  consequence 
that  excellence  is  more  rare  in  particular  pursuits,  it 
is  certain  that,  in  manner  and  in  general  intelligence, 


MANNERS    OF    THE    WOMEN.  191 

the  nation  is  greatly  a  gainer.  The  effect  of  this  ele 
vation  of  character  (I  persist  in  the  term)  was  abun 
dantly  conspicuous  at  the  castle  garden  fete.  Both 
men  and  women  deported  themselves,  and  to  all  ap 
pearances  looked  quite  as  well  as  a  far  more  select 
reunion  in  Europe.  The  distinguishing  feature  of 
American  female  manners  is  nature.  The  fair  crea 
tures  are  extremely  graceful  if  left  to  exhibit  their 
blandishments  in  their  own  way ;  but  it  is  very  evi 
dent,  that  a  highly  artificial  manner  in  those  with 
whom  they  associate,  produces  a  blighting  influence 
on  the  ease  of  even  the  most  polished  among  them. 
They  appear  to  me  to  shrink  sensitively  from  profes 
sions  and  an  exaggeration  that  form  no  part  of  their 
own  politeness ;  and  between  ourselves,  if  they  are 
wise,  they  will  retain  the  unequalled  advantage  they 
now  possess  in  carrying  refinement  no  further  than  it 
can  be  supported  by  simplicity  and  truth.  They  are 
decidedly  handsome :  a  union  of  beauty  in  feature  and 
form,  being,  I  think,  more  common  than  in  any  part 
of  Europe  north  of  the  Adriatic.  In  general  they  are 
delicate  ;  a  certain  feminine  air,  tone  of  voice,  size  and 
grace  being  remarkably  frequent.  In  the  northern, 
eastern  and  middle  states,  which  contain  much  more 
than  half  the  whole  population  of  the  country,  the 
women  are  fair ;  though  brunettes  are  not  unfrequent, 
and  just  as  blondes  are  admired  in  France,  they  are 
much  esteemed  here,  especially,  as  is  often  the  case, 
if  the  hair  and  eyes  happen  to  correspond.  Indeed 
it  is  difficult  to  imagine  any  creature  more  attractive 
than  an  American  beauty  between  the  ages  of  fifteen 
and  eighteen.  There  is  something  in  the  bloom,  deli 
cacy  and  innocence  of  one  of  these  young  things,  that 
reminds  }ou  of  the  conceptions  which  poets  and 
painters  have  taken  of  the  angels.  I  think  delicacy 
of  air  and  appearance  at  that  age,  though  perhaps 
scarcely  more  enchanting  than  what  one  sees  in  Eng 
land,  is  even  more  common  here  than  in  the  mother 


192  EARLY    FADING    OF    THE    WOMEN. 

country,  especially  when  it  is  recollected  how  many- 
more  fares  necessarily  pass  hefore  the  eye  in  a  given 
time  in  the  latter  nation  than  in  this.  It  is  often  said 
that  the  women  of  this  climate  fade  earlier  than  in 
the  northern  countries  of  Europe,  and  I  confess  I  was, 
at  first,  inclined  to  believe  the  opinion  true.  That  it 
is  not  true  to  the  extent  that  is  commonly  supposed, 
I  am,  however,  convinced  by  the  reasoning  of  Cad- 
wallader,  if  indeed  it  be  true  at  all.  Perhaps  a  great 
majority  of  the  females  marry  before  the  age  of 
twenty,  and  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see  them 
mothers  at  sixteen,  seventeen,  or  eighteen.  Almost 
every  American  mother  nurses  her  own  infant.  It 
is  far  more  common  to  find  them  mothers  of  eight, 
or  of  ten  children,  at  fifty,  than  mothers  of  two  or 
three.  Now  the  human  form  is  not  completely  de 
veloped  in  the  northern  moiety  of  this  Union,  earlier 
than  in  France,  or  in  England.  These  early  mar 
riages,  which  are  the  fruits  of  abundance,  have  an 
obvious  tendency  to  impair  the  powers  of  the  female, 
and  to  produce  a  premature  decay.  In  addition  to 
this  cause,  which  is  far  more  general  than  you  may 
be  disposed  to  believe,  there  is  something  in  the  cus 
toms  of  the  country  which  may  have  a  tendency,  not 
only  to  assist  the  ravages  of  time,  but  to  prevent  the 
desire  to  conceal  them.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
animal,  as  well  as  the  moral  man,  is  far  less  artificial 
here  than  in  Europe.  There  is  thought  to  be  some 
thing  deceptive  in  the  use  of  the  ordinary  means  of 
aiding  nature,  which  offends  the  simple  manners  of 
the  nation.  Even  so  common  an  ornament  as  rouge 
is  denied,  and  no  woman  dares  confess  that  she  uses 
it.  There  is  something  so  particularly  soft  and  deli 
cate  in  the  colour  of  the  young  females  one  sees  in  the 
streets  here,  that  at  first  I  was  inclined  to  give  them 
credit  for  the  art  with  which  they  applied  the  tints ; 
but  Cadwallader  gravely  assured  me  I  was  wrong. 
He  had  no  doubt  that  certain  individuals  did,  in  secret, 


COMMUNICATION   BETWEEN  THE  UNMARRIED.     193 

adopt  the  use  of  rouge  ;  but  within  the  whole  circuit 
of  his  acquaintance  he  could  not  name  one  whom  he 
even  suspected  of  the  practice.  Indeed,  several  gen 
tlemen  have  gone  so  far  as  to  assure  me  that  when  a 
woman  rouged,  it  is  considered  in  this  country,  as 
prima  facie  testimony  that  her  character  is  frail.  It 
should  also  be  remembered,  that  when  an  American 
girl  marries,  she  no  longer  entertains  the  desire  to  in 
terest  any  but  her  husband.  There  is  perhaps  some 
thing  in  the  security  of  matrimony  that  is  not  very 
propitious  to  female  blandishments,  and  one  ought  to 
express  no  surprise  that  the  wife  who  is  content  with 
the  affections  of  her  husband,  should  grow  a  little 
indifferent  to  the  admiration  of  the  rest  of  the  world. 
One  rarely  sees  married  women  foremost  in  the  gay 
scenes.  They  attend,  as  observant  and  influencing 
members  of  society,  but  not  as  the  principal  actors. 
It  is  thought  that  the  amusements  of  the  world  are 
more  appropriate  to  the  young,  who  are  neither  bur- 
thened  nor  sobered  with  matrimonial  duties,  and  who 
possess  an  inherent  right  to  look  about  them  in  the 
morning  of  life  in  quest  of  the  partner  who  is  to  be 
their  companion  to  its  close.  And  yet  I  could  name, 
among  my  acquaintances  here,  a  dozen  of  the  young 
est-locking  mothers  of  large  and  grown-up  families 
that  I  remember  ever  to  have  seen. 

The  freedom  of  intercourse  which  is  admitted  be 
tween  the  young  of  the  two  sexes  in  America,  and 
which  undeniably  is  admitted  with  impunity,  is  to 
me,  who  have  so  long  been  kept  sighing  in  the  dis 
tance,  perfectly  amazing.  I  have  met  with  self-suf 
ficient  critics  from  our  side  of  the  Atlantic,  who  be 
lieve,  or  affect  to  believe,  that  this  intercourse  cannot 
always  be  so  innocent  as  is  pretended.  When  ques 
tioned  as  to  the  grounds  of  their  doubts,  they  have 
uniformly  been  founded  on  the  impression  that  what 
could  not  exist  with  impunity  with  us,  cannot  exist 
<vith  impunity  here.  They  might  just  as  well  pre 
S 


194   RARELY  ABUSED,  AND  REASONS  WHY  NOT. 

tend,  in  opposition  to  the  known  fact,  that  a  repub 
lican  form  of  government  cannot  exist  in  America, 
because  it  could  not  well  exist  in  Turkey  as  the  Ot 
toman  empire  is  now  constituted.  That  the  confi 
dence  of  parents  is  sometimes  abused  in  America,  is 
probably  just  as  true  as  it  is  that  their  watchfulness 
is  sometimes  deceived  in  Europe;  but  the  intelligence, 
the  high  spirit,  and  the  sensitiveness  of  the  American 
(who  must  necessarily  be  a  party  to  any  transgressions 
of  the  sort)  on  the  subject  of  female  reputation,  is  in 
itself  sufficient  proof  that  the  custom  is  attended  with 
no  general  inconvenience.  The  readiness  of  the 
American  gentleman  to  appeal  to  arms  in  defence  of 
his  wounded  pride  is  too  well  known  to  be  disputed. 
The  duels  of  this  country  are  not  only  more  frequent, 
but  they  are  infinitely  more  fatal  than  those  of  any 
other  nation.  We  will  hereafter  consider  the  cause 
and  discuss  their  manner.  But  no  reasonable  man 
can  suppose  that  a  sagacious  nation,  which  is  so  sen 
sitive  on  the  point  of  honour,  would  stupidly  allow 
their  sisters  and  daughters  to  be  debauched,  when 
their  own  personal  experience  must  apprize  them  of 
the  danger  to  which  they  are  exposed.  The  evil 
would  necessarily  correct  itself.  The  chief  reason 
why  the  present  customs  can  exist  without  abuse,  is 
no  doubt  owing  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  army,  nor 
any  class  of  idlers,  to  waste  their  time  in  dissolute 
amusements.  Something  is  also  due  to  the  deep 
moral  feeling  which  pervades  the  community,  and 
which  influences  the  exhibition  of  vice  in  a  thousand 
different  ways.  But  having  said  so  much  on  the  sub 
ject,  you  may  expect  me  to  name  the  extent  to  which 
this  freedom  of  intercourse  extends.  Under  the  di 
rection  of  my  friend  Cadwallader,  I  shall  endeavour 
to  acquit  myself  of  the  obligation. 

You  will  readily  understand  that  the  usages  of  so- 
»:iety  must  always  he  more  or  less  tempered  by  the 
circles  in  which  they  are  exhibited.  Among  those 


HABITS  OF  AN  AMERICAN  GIRL.  195 

families  which  can  claim  to  belong  to  the  llite,  the  lib 
erty  allowed  to  unmarried  females,  I  am  inclined  to 
think,  is  much  the  same  as  is  practised  among  the  upper 
classes  in  England,  with  this  difference,  that,  as  there 
\s  less  danger  of  innovation  on  rank  through  fortune- 
hunters  and  fashionable  aspirants,  so  is  there  less 
jealousy  of  their  approaches.  A  young  American 
dances,  chats,  laughs,  and  is  just  as  happy  in  the 
saloon,  as  she  was  a  few  years  before  in  the  nursery. 
It  is  expected  that  the  young  men  would  seek  her 
out,  sit  next  her,  endeavour  to  amuse  her,  and.  in 
short,  to  make  themselves  as  agreeable  as  possible. 
By  the  memory  of  the  repentant  Benedict,  Cornpte 
Jules,  but  this  is  a  constant  and  sore  temptation  to 
one  who  has  never  before  been  placed  in  the  jeopardy 
of  such  a  contagious  atmosphere  !  But  it  is  necessary 
to  understand  the  tone  of  conversation  that  is  allowed, 
in  order  to  estimate  the  dangers  of  this  propinquity. 
The  language  of  gallantry  is  never  tolerated.  A 
married  woman  would  conceive  it  an  insult,  and  a 
girl  would  be  exceedingly  apt  to  laugh  in  her  adorer's 
face.  In  order  that  it  should  be  favourably  received, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  former  should  be  prepared  to 
forget  her  virtue,  and  to  the  latter,  whether  sincere 
or  not,  it  is  an  absolute  requisite  that  all  adulation 
should  at  least  wear  the  semblance  of  sincerity.  But 
he  who  addresses  an  unmarried  female  in  this  lan 
guage,  whether  it  be  of  passion  or  only  feigned,  must 
expect  to  be  exposed,  and  probably  disgraced,  unless 
he  should  be  prepared  to  support  his  sincerity  by  an 
offer  of  his  hand.  I  think  I  see  you  tremble  at  the 
magnitude  of  the  penalty  !  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
idle  pleasantries,  such  as  are  mutually  understood  to 
be  no  more  than  pleasantries,  are  not  sometimes  tol 
erated  ;  but  an  American  female  is  exceedingly  apt 
to  assume  a  chilling  gravity  at  the  slightest  trespass 
on  what  she  believes,  and,  between  ourselves,  right!  v 
believes,  to  be  the  dignity  of  her  sex.  Here,  you  will 


196  PECULIAR  RESERVE  IN  CONVERSATION. 

perceive,  is  a  saving  custom,  and  one,  too,  that  it  is 
exceedingly  hazardous  to  infringe,  which  diminishes 
one  half  of  the  ordinary  dangers  of  the  free  commu 
nication  between  the  young  of  the  two  sexes.  With 
out  doubt,  when  the  youth  has  once  made  his  choice, 
he  endeavours  to  secure  an  interest  in  the  affections 
of  the  chosen  fair,  by  all  those  nameless  assiduities 
and  secret  sympathies,  which,  though  they  appear  to 
have  produced  no  visible  fruits,  cannot  be  unknown 
to  one  of  your  established  susceptibility.  These  at 
tractions  lead  to  love;  and  love,  in  this  country,  nine 
teen  times  in  twenty,  leads  to  matrimony.  But  pure, 
heartfelt  affection,  rarely  exhibits  itself  in  the  lan 
guage  of  gallantry.  The  latter  is  no  more  than  a 
mask,  which  pretenders  assume  and  lay  aside  at  pleas 
ure  ;  but  when  the  heart  is  really  touched,  the  tongue 
is  at  best  but  a  miserable  interpreter  of  its  emotions. 
I  have  always  ascribed  our  own  forlorn  condition  to 
the  inability  of  that  mediating  member  to  do  justice 
to  the  strength  of  emotions  that  are  seemingly  as  deep 
as  they  are  frequent. 

There  is  another  peculiarity  in  American  manners 
that  should  be  mentioned.  You  probably  know  that 
in  England  far  more  reserve  is  used,  in  conversation 
with  a  female,  than  in  most,  if  not  all  of  the  nations 
of  the  continent.  As,  in  all  peculiar  customs,  each 
nation  prefers  its  own  usage ;  and  while  the  English 
lady  is  shocked  with  the  freedom  with  which  the 
French  lady  converses  of  her  personal  feelings,  ail- 
ings,  &c.,  the  latter  turns  the  nicety  of  the  former  into 
ridicule.  It  would  be  an  invidious  office  to  pretend 
to  decide  between  the  tastes  of  such  delicate  dispu 
tants  ;  but  one  manner  of  considering  the  subject  is 
manifestly  wrong.  The  great  reserve  of  the  English 
ladies  has  been  termed  a  mauvaise  honte,  which  is 
ascribed  to  their  insular  situation,  and  to  their  cir 
cumscribed  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  world. 
And  yet  it  may  be  well  questioned  if  the  paysanm 


CUSTOMS  OF  DIFFERENT  COUNTRIES.  197 

cannot  successfully  compete  with  the  clSgante,  in  this 
species  of  refinement,  or  whether  a  dame  des  halles 
cannot  rather  more  freely  discuss  her  animal  functions 
than  a  dame  de  la  cour.  This  is  a  manner  of  dis 
posing  of  the  question  that  will  not  abide  the  test  of 
investigation,  since  it  is  clear  that  refinement  makes 
us  reserved,  and  not  communicative,  on  all  such  to 
pics.  Fashion,  it  is  true,  may  cause  even  coarseness 
to  be  sometimes  tolerated,  and,  after  all,  it  is  no  easy 
matter  to  decide  where  true  refinement  ends,  or  sick- 
liness  of  taste  commences.  Let  all  this  be  as  it  may, 
it  is  certain  that  the  women  of  America,  of  all  classes, 
are  much  more  reserved  and  guarded  in  their  dis 
course,  at  least  in  presence  of  our  sex,  than  even  the 
women  of  the  country  whence  they  derive  their  ori 
gin.  Various  opinions  are  entertained  on  the  subject 
amongst  themselves.  The  vast  majority  of  the  men 
like  it,  because  they  are  used  to  no  other  custom. 
Many,  who  have  got  a  taste  of  European  usages,  con 
dernn  it  as  over-fastidious ;  but  my  friend  Cadwalla- 
der,  who  is  not  ignorant  of  life  in  both  hemispheres, 
worships  it,  as  constituting  one  of  the  distinctive  and 
appropriate  charms  of  the  sex.  He  stoutly  maintains, 
that  the  influence  of  woman  is  more  felt  and  revered 
in  American  society  than  in  any  other;  and  he  argues, 
with  no  little  plausibility,  that  it  is  so  because,  while 
she  rarely  or  never  exceeds  the  natural  duties  of  her 
station,  she  forgets  none  of  those  distinctive  features 
of  her  sex  and  character,  which,  by  constantly  ap 
pealing  to  the  generosity  of  man  by  admitting  her 
physical  weakness,  give  strength  and  durability  to 
her  moral  ascendancy.  I  think,  at  all  events,  no  in 
telligent  traveller  can  journey  through  this  country 
without  being  struck  by  the  singular  air  of  decency 
and  self-respect  which  belongs  to  all  its  women,  and 
S2 


198      PRECAUTIONS  USED  IN  UPPER  CLASS. 

no  honest  foreigner  can  deny  the  kindness  and  re 
spect  they  receive  from  the  men.* 

With  these  restrictions,  which  cannot  be  infringed 
without  violating  the  rules  of  received  decorum,  you 
will  readily  perceive  that  the  free  intercourse  be 
tween  the  unmarried  is  at  once  deprived  of  half  its 
danger.  But  the  upper  classes  in  this  country  are 
far  from  neglecting  many  necessary  forms.  As  they 
have  more  to  lose  by  matrimonial  connexions  than 
others,  common  prudence  teaches  them  the  value  of 
a  proper  caution.  Thus  a  young  lady  never  goes  in 
public  without  the  eye  of  some  experienced  matron 
to  watch  her  movements.  She  cannot  appear  at  a 
play,  ball,  &c.  &c.  without  a  father,  or  a  brother,  at 
least  it  is  thought  far  more  delicate  and  proper  that 
she  should  have  a  female  guardian.  She  never 
rides  nor  walks — unless  in  the  most  public  places, 
and  then  commonly  with  great  reserve — attended  by 
a  single  man,  unless  indeed  under  circustances  of  a 
peculiar  nature.  In  short,  she  pursues  that  course 
which  rigid  delicacy  would  prescribe,  without  how- 

*  A  conversation  once  occurred  between  a  French  and  an 
American  gentleman  on  this  subject,  in  presence  of  the  writer. 
The  former  insisted  that  the  Americans  did  not  treat  their  women 
as  politely  as  the  French,  though  he  did  not  deny  thinking  their 
treatment  substantially  kind.  "  ^or  instance,"  he  said,  "you 
will  not,  half  the  time,  give  a  lacy  the  wall  in  passing  in  the 
street."  "Very  true,"  returned  the  American,  "we  carry  our 
politeness  much  further;  we  are  humane.  There  is  not  a  street 
in  all  America  without  trottoirs,  and  most  of  them,  as  you  well 
know,  are  broad  and  comfortable.  It  is  true,  we  inherit  the 
custom  from  England;  but  had  we  not,  the  necessities  of  woman 
alone  would  have  caused  us  to  adopt  some  such  plan  for  her  re 
lief.  We  commonly  take  the  right  in  passing,  because  it  is  most 
convenient  to  have  a  general  rule.  If  any  thing,  the  wall  is 
neither  so  safe  nor  so  agreeable  as  the  outer  side  of  the  walk." 
Now  it  appears  to  the  writer,  that  this  reply  contains  the  very 
essence  of  the  kindness  of  man  to  woman  in  America.  There 
is  little  show  in  it;  but  every  thing  that  is  considerate  and 
useful. 


CONFIDING  PRACTICE  OF  THE  COUNTRY.          199 

ever  betraying  any  marked  distrust  of  the  intentions 
of  the  other  sex.  These  customs  are  relaxed  a  little 
as  you  descend  in  the  scale  of  society ;  but  it  is  evi 
dently  more  because  the  friends  of  a  girl  with  ten  or 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  or  of  a  family  in  middle 
life,  have  less  jealousy  of  motive  than  those  of  one 
who  is  rich,  or  otherwise  of  a  particularly  desirable 
connexion. 

I  shall  close  this  long  and  discursive  epistle  with 
one  more  distinctive  custom,  that  may  serve  to  give 
you  an  idea  of  the  tone  and  simplicity  of  this  society. 
There  is  something  repugnant  to  the  delicacy  of 
American  ideas  in  permitting  a  lady  to  come,  in  any 
manner  in  contact  with  the  world.  A  woman  of 
almost  any  rank  above  the  labouring  classes,  is  averse 
to  expose  herself  to  the  usual  collisions,  bargainings, 
&c.  &c.  of  ordinary  travelling.  Thus,  the  first  thing 
an  American  woman  requires  to  commence  a  jour 
ney,  is  a  suitable  male  escort;  the  very  thing  that 
with  us  would  be  exceptionable.  Nothing  is  more 
common,  for  instance,  when  a  husband  or  a  brother 
hears  that  a  respectable  acquaintance  is  about  to 
go  in  the  same  steam-boat,  stage,  or  on  the  same 
route,  as  that  in  which  his  wife  or  sister  intends 
to  journey,  than  to  request  the  former  to  become 
her  protector.  The  request  is  rarely  refused,  and 
the  trust  is  always  considered  flattering,  and  com 
monly  sacred.  Here  you  see  that  the  very  custom 
which  in  Europe  would  create  scandal,  is  here  re 
sorted  to,  under  favour  of  good  morals  and  direct 
ness  of  thought,  to  avert  it.  Cadwallader  assures  me 
that  he  was  pained,  arid  even  shocked,  at  meeting 
well-bred  women  running  about  Europe  attended 
only  by  a  footman  and  a  maid,  and  that  for  a  long 
time  he  could  not  divest  himself  of  the  idea,  that  they 
were  unfortunate  in  having  lost  all  those  male  friends, 
whose  natural  duty  it  was  to  stand  between  their 
helplessness  and  the  cold  calculating  selfishness  of 


200          LEAVES  NEW-YORK  FOR  THE  INTERIOR. 

the  world.  There  would  be  some  relief  to  the  ennui 
of  our  desolation,  gallant  Jules,  could  our  own  single- 
blessedness  take  refuge  in  the  innocent  delights  oc 
such  a  servitude  ! — Adieu. 


TO  THE  COMTE  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 
&c.  &c. 


New-York,- 


THERE  is  a  secret  pleasure  in  discoursing  of  the 
habits,  affections,  and  influence  of  the  sex,  which 
invariably  leads  me  astray  from  all  other  objects.  I 
find,  on  perusing  my  letter-book,  that  the  temptation 
of  treating  on  the  usages  of  the  American  women, 
completely  lured  me  from  a  recollection  of  the 
fete  in  which  I  was  happy  enough  to  see  so  many  of 
the  fair  creatures  congregated.  It  is  now  too  late  to 
return  to  a  description  of  a  scene  that  would  require 
hours  to  do  it  justice,  and  we  must,  in  consequence, 
take  our  departure  abruptly  for  the  interior  of  the  state 
of  New- York.  It  had  been  previously  arranged  that 

Cadwallader  and  his  acquaintance  should 

take  passage  in  a  steam-boat  that  was  destined  to 
receive  La  Fayette,  and  which  was  to  depart,  at  a 
stated  hour,  from  the  terrace  of  the  castle  garden 
itself. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  these  republicans  have 
given  a  princely  reception  to  their  venerable  guest. 
It  forms  one  portion  of  their  plan  of  hospitality,  that 
he  is  to  receive  every  accommodation  to  which  he 
is  entitled  by  his  rank  and  services,  and  every  facility 
of  movement  possible,  without  the  least  pecuniary 
cost.  At  every  city,  and  indeed  at  every  hamlet  he 


SPONTANEOUS    TRIBUTES   TO   LA   FAYETTE.       20i 

enters,  lodgings,  table,  carriage,  and,  in  short,  all  the 
arrangements  of  a  well-ordered  establishment,  are 
made  at  the  expense  of  the  citizens.  The  govern 
ment  has  nothing  further  to  do  with  it,  than  that  it 
offered  him  a  vessel  of  war  to  conduct  him  to  the 
country,  and  that  it  has  issued  orders  that  their  an 
cient  general  should  be  re/yjived  with  the  customary 
military  honours  at  the  different  military  and  naval  es 
tablishments,  &c.  that  he  may  choose  to  visit.  Every 
thing  else  is  left  to  the  good-will  and  grateful  affectioi- 
of  the  people,  and  nobly  do  they  press  forward  to 
lay  their  little  offerings  on  the  altar  of  gratitude.  The 
passage  of  La  Fayette  by  land  is  invariably  conduct 
ed  under  an  escort  of  local  cavalry,  from  town  to 
town,  while  he  never  enters  a  State  that  he  is  not  re 
ceived  either  by  its  governor  in  person,  or  some  suit 
able  representative,  who  charges  himself  with  all  that 
is  necessary  to  the  comfort  of  the  guest  during  the 
time  that  he  is  to  remain  in  those  particular  territo 
ries.  The  receptions,  entertainments,  and  contribu 
tions  of  the  several  towns  are  made  subject  to  this 
general  control,  and  by  this  means  confusion  is  avoid 
ed,  and  despatch,  an  important  part  where  so  much 
is  to  be  done,  is  commonly  secured. 

On  the  present  occasion,  La  Fayette  was  to  pre 
sent  himself  in  the  towns  on  the  banks  of  the  Hud 
son;  to  examine  the  great  military  school  at  West 
Point,  and  to  revisit  many  of  those  scenes  of  peculiar 
interest  in  which  he  had  been  an  important  actor 
five  and  forty  years  before.  A  capacious,  comfort 
able,  and  even  elegant  steam-boat,  was  appropriated 
to  his  use.*  It  might  readily  have  transported  several 


*  The  luxury  of  the  American  steam-boats  is  peculiar  to  the 
nation.  Those  of  England  are  certainly  next  to  them  in  size, 
show,  and  elegance;  but  the  writer  thinks  they  cannot  be  said  to 
}''f  equal  in  either.  Their  number,  considering  the  population 
o  the  country,  is  amazing.  There  cannot  be  less  than  fifty,  thai 


202      DEPARTURE  FOR  ALBANY HUDSON  RIVER. 

hundred  souls,  and  one  or  two  hundred  could  s]ee;t 
beneath  the  decks  with  as  much  comfort  as  is  usually 
found  in  the  limited  space  of  any  vessel. 

A  little  after  midnight  we  were  told  it  was  neces 
sary  to  depart.  Our  baggage  and  servants  were 
already  on  board,  and  following  the  motions  of  La 
Fayette,  who  tore  himself  from  a  crowd  of  the  fair 
and  affectionate  daughters  of  America,  that  seemed  in 
truth  to  regard  him  with  eyes  of  filial  affection,  we 
left  the  britliant  scene  together.  The  boat  was  in 
readiness,  and  stepping  on  her  decks  from  the  lower 
terrace  beneath  the  walls  of  the  castle,  in  five  minutes 
we  were  making  swift  progress  along  the  noble  river 
of  the  north,  as  it  is  often  called  in  this  country.  For 
a  few  minutes  we  saw  the  halo  of  light  which  hung 
about  the  scene  we  had  quitted,  and  heard  the  soft 
sounds  of  the  distant  music  diffusing  themselves  on 
the  water,  and  then  came  the  gloomier  objects  of  the 
sleeping  town,  with  its  tall,  straight  spires,  its  forests 
of  masts,  and  its  countless  rows  of  battlement-walls, 
and  of  chimneys,  in  brick.  The  whole  company, 
which  consisted  of  some  fifty  or  sixty,  immediately 
retired  to  their  births,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  dash 
ing  of  the  wheels  against  the  water,  and  the  dead, 
dull  movement  of  the  engine,  lulled  me  to  sleep. 

I  was  up  long  before  most  of  the  company.     La 

ply  on  the  waters  which  communicate  with  the  city  of  New- 
York  alone.  On  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  there  are 
near  a  hundred,  many  of  which  are  as  large  as  small  frigates. 
Of  their  elegance  it  may  be  said  that  one  is  now  running  on  the 
Hudson,  which,  besides  a  profuse  expenditure  of  marble,  ma 
hogany,  the  beautiful  bird's-eye  maple  of  the  country,  and  all 
the  other  customary  ornaments,  has  its  cabins  actually  sur 
rounded  by  compartments  painted  in  landscapes,  &c.  &c.  by 
artists  who  would  occupy  highly  creditable  situations  among 
their  brethren  in  Europe.  This  boat  has  run  from  New- York  to 
Albany,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  miles, 
in  eleven  hours  and  a  half.  Every  day,  too,  is  exhibiting  im 
provements  in  machinery  and  form,  as  also  in  luxury  and 
comfort. 


MORNING RIVER  COMPARED  TO  OTHERS.        203 

Fayette  was  on  deck,  attended  by  one  or  two 
foreigners,  who,  like  myself,  were  anxious  to  lose 
as  little  as  possible  of  the  glorious  scenery  of  this 
renowned  river,  and  two  or  three  Americans,  who 
had  reached  that  time  of  life  when  sleep  is  becoming 
less  necessary  than  it  was  in  youth.  The  night  had 
been  foggy  and  unusually  dark,  and  we  had  lost  some 
time  by  touching  on  an  oyster-bank  that  lies  in  one  of 
the  broadest  parts  of  the  river.  This  delay,  however, 
though  it  served  to  disconcert  some  of  the  arrange 
ments  of  the  towns  above,  was  certainly  propitious 
to  our  wishes,  since  it  enabled  us,  who  had  never 
before  been  on  this  water,  to  see  more  of  its  delight 
ful  landscapes.  As  I  do  not  intend  often  to  molest 
you  with  descriptions  that  cannot  be  considered  dis 
tinctive,  you  will  bear  with  me  for  a  moment  while 
I  make  a  little  digression  in  favour  of  the  Hudson, 
which,  after  having  seen  the  Rhine,  the  Rhone,  the 
Loire,  the  Seine,  the  Danube,  the  Wolga,  the  Dnieper, 
and  a  hundred  others,  1  fearlessly  pronounce  to  em 
brace  a  greater  variety  of  more  noble  and  more 
pleasing  natural  objects,  than  any  one  of  them  all. 

For  the  first  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth,  the  Hudson 
is  never  much  less  than  a  mile  in  width,  and,  in  two 
instances,  it  expands  into  small  lakes  of  twice  that 
breadth,  running  always  in  a  direction  a  little  west  of 
north.  The  eye,  at  first,  looks  along  an  endless  vista, 
that  narrows  by  distance,  but  which  opposes  nothing 
but  distance  to  the  view.  The  western  shore  is  a 
perpendicular  rock,  weather-worn  and  venerable, 
bearing  a  little  of  the  appearance  of  artificial  par 
apets,  from  which  word  it  takes  its  name.  This  rock 
has  a  very  equal  altitude  of  about  five  hundred  feet. 
At  the  foot  of  this  wall  of  stone,  there  is,  occasionally, 
room  for  the  hut  of  some  labourer  in  the  quarries, 
which  are  wrought  in  its  side,  and  now  and  then  a 
house  is  seen  seated  on  a  narrow  bottom,  that  may 
furnish  subsistence  for  a  few  cattle,  or,  perhaps,  a 


204  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  HUDSON. 

garden  for  the  occupant.  The  opposite  bank  is  cu) 
tivated  to  the  water,  though  it  is  also  high,  unequal, 
and  broken.  A  few  villages  are  seen,  white,  neat, 
and  thriving,  and  of  a  youthful,  vigorous  air,  as  is  gene 
rally  the  case  with  an  American  village,  while  there 
is  scarcely  an  eligible  site  for  a  dwelling  that  is  not 
occupied  by  a  villa,  or  one  of  the  convenient  and 
respectable  looking  farm-houses  of  the  country. 
Orchards,  cattle,  fields  of  grain,  and  all  the  other 
signs  of  a  high  domestic  condition,  serve  to  heighten 
the  contrast  of  the  opposing  banks.  This  description, 
short  and  imperfect  as  it  is,  may  serve  to  give  you 
some  idea  of  what  I  should  call  the  first  distinctive 
division  of  this  extraordinary  river.  The  second 
commences  at  the  entrance  of  th<-  Highlands.  These 
are  a  succession  of  confused  and  beautifully  romantic 
mountains,  with  broken  and  irregular  summits,  which 
nature  had  apparently  once  opposed  to  the  passage 
of  the  water.  The  elements,  most  probably  assisted 
by  some  violent  convulsion  of  the  crust  of  the  earth, 
triumphed,  and  the  river  has  wrought  for  itself  a 
sinuous  channel  through  the  maze  of  hills,  for  a  dis 
tance  of  not  less  than  twenty  miles.  Below  the 
Highlands,  though  the  parapets  and  their  rival  banks 
form  a  peculiar  scenery,  the  proportions  of  objects 
are  not  sufficiently  preserved  to  give  to  the  land,  or 
to  the  water,  the  effect  which  they  are  capable  of 
producing  in  conjunction.  The  river  is  too  broad, 
or  the  hills  are  too  low.  But  within  the  Highlands, 
the  objection  is  lost.  The  river  is  reduced  to  less 
than  half  its  former  width,  (at  least  it  appears  so  to 
the  eye,)  while  the  mountains  rise  to  three  and  four 
times  the  altitude  of  the  parapets.  Rocks,  broken, 
ragged,  and  fantastic  ;  forests,  through  which  dis 
jointed  precipices  are  seen  forming  dusky  back 
grounds  ;  promontories  ;  dark,  deep  bays  ;  low  sylvan 
points ;  elevated  plains ;  gloomy,  retiring  valleys ; 
pinnacles  ;  cones  ;  ramparts,  that  overhang  and  frown 


SECOND  DIVISION  OF  THE  SCENERY.  205 

upon  the  water ;  and,  in  short,  almost  every  variety 
or  form  in  which  the  imagination  can  conjure  pictures 
of  romantic  beauty,  are  assembled  here.  To  these 
natural  qualities  of  the  scenery,  must  be  associated 
more  artificial  accessories  than  are  common  to  Amer 
ica.  The  ruins  of  military  works  are  scattered  pro 
fusely  among  these  wild  and  ragged  hills,  and  more 
than  one  tale  of  blood  and  of  daring  is  recounted  to 
the  traveller,  as  he  glides  among  their  sombre  shadows. 
To  these  relics  of  a  former  age,  must  be  added  the 
actual  and  flourishing  establishment  at  the  "  Point,1' 
which  comprises  a  village  of  academic  buildings,  bar 
racks,  and  other  adjuncts.  1  remember  nothing  more 
striking  in  its  way  than  a  view  up  one  of  the  placid 
reaches  of  this  passage.  The  even  surface  of  the 
water,  darkened  here  and  there  with  broad  shadows 
from  a  pyramid  of  rock  ;  the  glorious  hue  of  a  setting 
sun  gilding  the  green  sides  of  a  distant  mountain, 
over  which  the  dark  passage  of  a  cloud  was  occa 
sionally  to  be  traced,  resembling  the  flight  of  some 
mighty  bird ;  with  twenty  or  thirty  lagging  sails, 
whitening  the  channel,  from  whose  smooth  surface 
they  were  reflected  as  from  that  of  a  mirror,  formed 
the  picture. 

Above  the  Highlands,  the  river  again  assumes  a 
different  character.  From  the  bay  of  Newburg  to 
that  of  Hudson,  a  distance  at  least  of  sixty  or  seventy 
miles,  it  appears  like  a  succession  of  beautiful  lakes, 
each  reach  preserving  the  proportions  and  appear 
ance  of  a  separate  sheet  of  water,  rather  than  of  part 
of  a  river.  There  are  a  few  of  these  detached  views 
that  may  compete  with  any  of  Italy,  and  to  one  in 
particular  there  is  a  noble  back-ground  of  mountains, 
removed  a  few  miles  from  the  water,  which  are 
thrown  together  in  splendid  confusion. 

From  Hudson  to  Albany,  some  thirty  miles,  the 
Hudson  acquires  more  of  the  character  of  a  river, 
according  to  our  European   notions.     It  is  dotted 
T 


206  THIRD   DIVISIOiN     OF  THE  RIVER. 

with  islands,  much  like  the  Seine  above  Caudebec, 
and  its  scenery  is  picturesque  and  exceedingly  agree 
able.  This  character,  indeed,  is  preserved  even  to 
Waterford,  a  few  miles  further,  and  above  the  point 
where  its  waters  are  increased  by  the  contributions 
of  the  Mohawk. 

At  Waterford,  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  from 
the  sea,  it  becomes  a  reduced  and  rural  stream,  about 
as  large  as  the  Seine  at  Paris,  and  can  be  traced  for 
leagues,  sometimes  still,  lovely,  and  green  with 
islands,  and  sometimes  noisy,  rapid,  and  tumbling, 
until  you  reach  its  sources  in  the  rugged,  broken 
mountains  of  the  northern  counties  of  the  State. 
There  are  far  mightier  streams  in  this  country  than 
the  Hudson,  but  there  is  not  one  of  scenery  so  diver 
sified  and  so  pleasing.  The  Rhine,  with  its  cities,  its 
hundred  castles,  and  its  inexhaustible  recollections, 
has  charms  of  its  own;  but  when  time  shall  lend  to 
the  Hudson  the  interest  of  a  deeper  association,  its 
passage  will,  I  think,  be  pronounced  unequalled. 
At  present,  even,  it  is  not  without  a  character  of 
peculiar  moral  beauty.  The  view  of  all  the  im 
provements  of  high  civilization  in  rapid,  healthful, 
and  unequalled  progress,  is  cheering  to  philanthropy  : 
while  the  countless  villas,  country-houses,  and  even 
seats  of  reasonable  pretensions,  are  calculated  to  as 
sure  one,  that,  amid  the  general  abundance  of  life, 
its  numberless  refinements  are  not  neglected. 

The  Highlands  had  been  the  great  military  position 
of  the  Americans  during  the  struggle  for  their  inde 
pendence.  The  scattered  population  of  the  country, 
at  that  time,  lay  along  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  be 
tween  the  forty-third  and  the  thirty-third  degrees  of 
latitude.  Perhaps  one  half  of  the  entire  physical 
strength  of  the  country  then  existed  in  the  States  ot 
New-England.  It  is  well  known,  that  after  the  in 
surrection  had  assumed  the  character  of  a  war, 
Great  Britain,  instead  of  maintaining,  was  obliged  to 


A  FAVOURITE  SCHEME  OF  THE  WAR  OF    1776.    207 

resort  to  the  more  established  principles  of  a  regular 
contest  to  recover  her  former  dominion.  She  obtain 
ed  the  possession  of  Montreal  and  New-York.  Na 
ture,  by  means  of  the  Hudson  and  the  northern  lakes, 
offered  extraordinary  facilities  of  communication  be 
tween  the  two  places ;  and  politicians,  at  the  dis 
tance  of  three  thousand  miles,  as  they  studied  the 
map,  vainly  imagined  that  the  cord  of  moral  connex 
ion  could  be  severed  as  easily  as  one  of  a  more  per 
ishable  nature.  It  was  believed,  that  by  marching 
armies  from  the  opposite  extremities,  and  leaving 
sufficient  garrisons  at  the  most  important  points  along 
their  routes,  the  intercourse  between  the  eastern  and 
the  other  States  could  be  so  far  interrupted  as  to  ren 
der  conquest  certain.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  success  of  such  a  plan  would  for  a  time  have 
thrown  great  embarrassment  in  the  way  of  the 
Americans,  though  it  is  morally  certain  it  would 
have  assured  the  final  failure  of  the  royal  cause. 
The  idea  of  covering  a  country,  peopled  like  that  in 
dispute,  with  military  posts,  ought  to  have  been 
deemed  too  absurd  for  serious  consideration.  A 
power  stronger  than  even  that  of  the  bayonet  had 
already  taught  the  intended  victims  of  this  plan  confi 
dence  in  themselves  and  in  their  cause.  It  is  clear 
that  the  scheme  could  only  succeed  in  a  nation, 
whose  people  had  been  accustomed  to  consider 
themselves  as  appendages  to,  instead  of  the  control 
lers  of,  a  political  system.  It  would  have  been  giving 
to  the  Americans  a  vast  advantage  already  possessed 
by  their  enemies,  by  dividing  the  power  of  the  latter, 
and  in  inviting  attack,  as  it  must  have  indicated  the 
points  against  which  a  superior  force  might  have  been 
easily  directed.  The  experiment  was  afterwards  made 
in  the  less  populous  States  of  the  south,  and  complete* 
ly  failed,  most  of  the  garrisons  being  captured  in  suc 
cession.  One  might  almost  fancy  he  saw  the  stubborn 
yeomanry  of  New-England  leaving  their  ploughs  for  a 


208        REASONS  AGAINST  ITS  SUCCESS. 

week,  in  order  to  mingle  in  the  pastime  of  reducing  a 
hostile  garrison.  In  short,  the  plan  was  German,  and 
however  successful  it  might  have  been  between  the 
Rhine  and  the  Danube,  it  would  have  infallibly  ended 
in  disgrace,  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  It  did  end  in 
disgrace,  though  time  was  not  given  for  its  complete 
developement.  The  yeomanry  of  New-England,  in 
stead  of  waiting  for  that  portion  of  the  royal  force 
which  debouched  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  commu 
nicate  with  their  brethren  on  the  Hudson,  saw  fit  to 
divert  their  course,  and  marched  the  whole  of  what 
was,  in  that  day,  a  powerful  army,  prisoners  of  war 
to  Boston.  This  was  merely  effecting;;  in  gross,  that 
which,  under  other  circumstances,  would  have  infal 
libly  been  done  in  detail. 

In  America  man  had  early  discovered  that  the  so 
cial  machine  was  invented  for  his  use,  and  it  would 
have  required  something  far  more  powerful  than  the 
display  of  a  line  of  ensigns  to  direct  him  from  the 
great  object  on  which  he  had  gravely,  deliberately, 
and  resolutely  determined.  Still  as  every  foot  of  land 
acquired  was  so  far  a  conquest  as  its  sovereignty  form 
ed  a  portion  of  the  disputed  territory,  it  cannot  be 
supposed  that  the  Americans  were  indifferent  to  the 
possession  of  the  strongest  fortress  of  their  country. 
By  holding  the  Highlands  they  rendered  the  commu 
nications  between  the  States  more  easy,  and  they  kept 
a  constant  check  on  the  movements  of  the  royal 
forces  in  the  vastly  important  city  of  New-York. 
West  Point,  the  heart  of  their  positions  in  these 
mountains,  had  been  strongly  fortified,  and  its  defence 
was  justly  enough  considered  as  of  the  greatest  mo 
ment  to  their  cause.  After  the  arrival  of  the  French 
army  at  Rhode  Island,  a  conquest  which  had  baffled 
all  the  previous  exertions  of  the  British,  should  have 
been  abandoned  as  impossible.  It  would  seem  a  hope 
was  indulged  that  what  could  not  be  achieved  by 
force  of  arms,  might  be  effected  by  means  less  mar- 


ANDRE MANNER  OF  HIS  CAPTURE.       209 

tial.  The  officer  in  command  of  West  Point,  a  man 
of  talents  and  of  great  personal  courage,  but  one  of 
depraved  morals,  was  unfortunately  disposed  to  make 
advances  which  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  the  English  com- 
mander-in-chief,  was  glad  to  meet.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  British  Adjutant-General  Andre  was  employ 
ed  as  a  negotiator  on  this  occasion.  La  Fayette  had 
been  an  actor  in  some  of  the  scenes  connected  with 
this  interesting  event,  and  as  we  walked  the  deck  to 
gether,  and  gazed  upon  the  mountains  which  environ 
ed  us,  he  revived  his  own  recollections,  and  delighted 
some  half  dozen  greedy  auditors,  by  dwelling  on  the 
more  familiar  incidents  of  that  day. 

It  appears  that  a  British  sloop  of  war  had  ascended 
the  river,  and  anchored  in  a  wide  bay  a  few  miles 
below  the  entrance  of  the  Highlands.  This  sloop 
(the  Vulture)  had  brought  Major  Andre,  and,  having 
landed  him,  was  awaiting  his  return.  The  adjutant- 
general  was  induced  to  enter  within  the  lines  of  the 
American  sentinels  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  the  force,  condition,  and  defences  of 
his  enemy ;  an  act  that  clearly  committed  him  as  a 
spy.  His  retreat  was  rendered  difficult,  and  instead 
of  returning  to  the  Vulture,  he  assumed  a  disguise, 
and  attempted  to  regain  New- York  by  traversing  the 
intervening  county  of  West-Chester.  On  his  road  he 
was  intercepted  by  three  young  American  farmers, 
who,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  country,  were  in 
ambush  to  await  the  passage  of  any  small  party  of 
the  British,  or  of  their  friends,  who  might  chance  to 
come  that  wray.  By  these  young  men  was  Andre  ar 
rested.  The  Americans  were  in  common  parlance 
termed  the  party  above,  (in  reference  to  the  course  of 
the  river,)  and  their  foes,  the  party  below.  As  there 
was  nothing  immediately  in  view  about  the  person  of 
Major  Andre  to  betray  his  real  character,  it  is  quite 
possible  that,  had  he  retained  his  presence  of  mind, 
he  might,  after  a  short  detention,  have  been  permit- 
T2 


210  WANT  OF  PRESENCE  OF  MIND. 

ted  to  pass.  But  his  captors  manifested  much  more 
sagacity  than  the  British  officer  himself.  Some  allow 
ance,  however,  ought  in  justice  to  be  made  for  the 
critical  situation  of  the  latter.  He  eagerly  demanded 
"  To  which  party  do  you  belong  ?"  The  Americans 
adroitly  answered  "  below."  To  this  simple  artifice 
he  became  a  victim,  immediately  confessing  himself  a 
British  officer.  Now,  it  is  quite  plain  to  us,  who 
speculate  on  the  death  of  this  young  officer,  that  had 
he  possessed  a  quickness  of  intellect  equal  to  the 
questionable  office  he  had  assumed,  his  miserable 
fate  might  have  been  averted.  By  assuming  the  char 
acter  of  an  American  he  would  clearly  have  been 
safest,  let  his  captors  prove  to  be  what  they  would  ; 
since,  if  enemies,  it  might  have  lulled  their  suspicions, 
or  if  friends,  they  would  at  most  have  conducted  hirr. 
to  the  British  camp,  the  very  spot  he  was  risking  his 
life  to  gain.  Providence  had  ordained  it  differently. 
He  was  searched,  and  plans  of  the  works  at  the 
Point,  with  other  important  communications,  were 
found  about  his  person.  It  then  became  necessary 
to  entreat  and  to  promise.  Though  the  English  were 
known  to  pay  well,  and  to  possess  the  means  of 
bribing  high,  these  young  yeomen  were  true  to  the 
sacred  cause  of  their  country.  Neither  gold,  nor 
honours,  nor  dread  of  the  future,  could  divert  them 
from  their  duty.  The  helpless  adjutant-general  was 
conveyed  to  the  nearest  post,  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  its  commandant,  was  sent  to  head-quarters,  tried, 
and  finally  hanged. 

During  the  time  Arnold  was  maturing  his  work  of 
treason,  Washington  was  absent  from  the  army,  in  the 
adjoining  State  of  Connecticut,  whither  he  had  gone 
to  arrange  a  plan  for  the  ensuing  and  final  campaign 
of  the  contest,  with  the  commandant  of  the  French 
forces.  La  Fayette  was  of  the  party.  It  happened 
that  these  military  chiefs  arrived  in  the  mountains  on 
the  very  morning  when  the  arrest  of  Andre  (under  a 


EXTRAORDINARY  COOLNESS  OF  ARNOLD.    211 

fictitious  name)  was  made  known  at  'the  Point.1 
The  residence  of  Arnold  was  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river.  The  principal  fortress,  or  the  '  Point,'  was 
nearly  opposite.  Washington  and  his  suite  were 
engaged  to  breakfast  at  the  former  place,  but  a  de 
sire  to  inspect  certain  po:«ts  in  the  passes,  interfered 
with  the  arrangement.  Two  aides*  were  despatched 
with  an  apology,  and  a  promise  to  repair  the  failure 
at  dinner.  The  other  guests  were  at  table  (at  break 
fast),  when  a  letter  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Arnold, 
which  he  read  without  betraying  any  emotion.  It 
was  the  report  of  the  officer  in  advance,  that  he  had 
arrested  a  "John  Anderson,"  of  the  British  army, 
under  circumstances  of  great  suspicion.  As  this  was 
the  name  Andre  had  assumed  by  agreement,  the  trai 
tor  instantly  knew  his  danger.  After  a  moment's 
pause,  he  left  the  table,  at  which  a  dozen  officers  of 
rank  had  assembled  to  greet  Washington,  and  ascend 
ed  to  his  chamber.  His  wife  had  been  able  to  pene 
trate  an  uneasiness  which  less  anxious  eyes  had  failed 
to  detect,  Apologizing  to  her  guests,  she  followed 
her  husband  to  his  room.  It  is  suspected  that  she 
had  been  privy  to  his  intentions  to  betray  the  Amer 
ican  cause.  He  communicated  the  failure  of  the 
plan,  and  his  own  imminent  danger,  in  as  few  words 
as  possible.  He  then  left  her  in  a  swoon,  stepping 
over  her  insensible  body,  and  telling  a  maid  to  give 
assistance,  he  passed  through  the  room,  informing  his 
guests,  with  the  utmost  coolness,  that  his  wife  was 
seized  with  a  sudden  indisposition,  and  that  there 
was  a  necessity  for  his  own  immediate  departure  for 
the  Point,  in  order  to  prepare  for  the  military  recep 
tion  of  the  cornmander-in-chief.  Although  the  known 

*  Hamilton,  an  aide  of  Washington,  afterwards  so  distinguish 
ed  in  the  history  of  his  country ;  and  M'Henry,  an  aide  of  La 
Fayette,  subsequently  Secretary  of  War.  It  is  pleasant  to  trace 
these  young  men  in  the  events  of  their  early  lives,  through  these 
familiar  scenes. 


212          HIS  SUCCESSFUL  AND  NARROW    ESCAPE. 

cupidity  of  the  man  had  excited  very  general  disgust 
his  devotion  to  his  country,  which  had  been  hied  in 
so  many  battles,  was  not  in  the  slightest  degree  dis 
trusted.  As  yet,  you  will .  remember,  he  had  all  the 
evidences  of  his  guilt  in  his  own  possession. 

Quitting  the  house,  Arnold  mounted  a  horse  be 
longing  to  one  of  his  aides,  and  galloped  a  half  a  mile 
to  a  place  where  his  barge  was  in  waiting.  He  en 
tered  the  boat  with  a  favourable  tide,  and  command 
ed  the  crew  to  pull  down  the  river.  His  object  was 
to  get  as  soon  as  possible  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
cannon  of  the  forts.  Of  course  he  was  obeyed,  and, 
as  no  suspicions  had  been  excited,  he  was  believed 
to  be  at  the  Point,  when,  in  truth,  he  was  making 
the  best  of  his  way  along  the  lovely  mountain-river 
I  have  endeavoured  to  describe.  The  distance  to  go 
before  he  was  safe,  was  seventeen  or  eighteen  miles, 
for  all  the  commanding  points  were  in  the  keeping  of 
his  injured  countrymen.  By  the  aid  of  great  encour 
agement,  his  crew  (who  were  deceived  by  a  tale  that 
he  was  going  on  board  the  Vulture  with  a  flag  on 
urgent  business)  made  such  exertions  as  enabled  him 
to  get  through  the  lower  pass,  before  the  courier  with 
the  intelligence  of  his  treason  had  arrived.  Through 
out  the  whole  affair,  this  wretched  man,  who  has  ac 
quired  a  notoriety  that  promises  to  be  as  lasting  as 
that  of  Erostratus,  manifested  the  utmost  coolness 
and  decision.* 

Arnold  had  scarcely  got  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
cannon  on  the  Point,  when  Washington,  La  Fayette, 
and  Knox,  another  distinguished  general,  with  their 
several  suites,  arrived.  The  commander-in-chief  was 


*  The  writer  has  had  the  double  advantage  of  listening  to  the 
deeply  interesting  details  of  La  Fayette,  and  of  hearing  Arnold's 
own  statement  from  a  British  officer,  who  was  present  when  the 
latter  related  his  escape  at  a  dinner  given  in  New- York,  with  an 
impudence  that  was  scarcely  less  remarkable  than  his  surprising 
uelf-possession 


WANT    OF    SUSPICION    IN    WASHINGTON.          213 

naturally  enough  surprised  that  his  host  was  not  at 
home  to  receive  him.  An  aide  of  Arnold  (Major 
Franks)  apologized  so  warmly  for  the  absence  of  his 
general,  as  to  create  doubts  of  his  own  faith,  when  the 
facts  came  to  be  known.  After  a  short  delay,  Wash 
ington,  with  most  of  the  company,  crossed  the  river 
to  the  fortress.  Some  surprise  was  expressed,  as  they 
approached  the  shore,  that  no  movement  was  seen 
among  the  troops ;  and  they  landed  without  the 
slightest  evidence  of  their  being  expected  visitors. 
The  officer  in  command  soon  appeared,  and  made  his 
excuses  for  not  paying  his  superior  the  customary 
honours,  on  the  ground  of  ignorance  that  he  was  ex 
pected.  "  Is  not  General  Arnold  here  ?"  demanded 
Washington.  "  No,  Sir ;  we  have  not  seen  him  on 
this  side  of  the  river  to-day."  Some  amazement  was 
expressed  among  the  generals ;  but  treason  was  so 
little  in  consonance  with  the  feeling  of  the  times,  that 
not  the  smallest  suspicion  was  even  yet  excited. 
Washington  continued  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
until  the  hour  for  dinner  was  near,  when  he  returned 
to  the  abandoned  residence  of  the  fugitive,  to  comply 
with  his  engagement  of  the  morning.  As  the  party 
approached  the  house,  Colonel  Hamilton,  who  had 
not  crossed  the  river,  was  seen  pacing  its  court-yard 
in  a  high  state  of  excitement.  He  held  in  his  hands 
a  bundle  of  papers.  He  gave  the  latter  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  and  they  retired  together.  These 
papers  were  the  plans,  &c.  found  on  the  person  of 
Andre,  and  they  fully  explained  his  object,  and  be 
trayed  the  guilt  of  Arnold.  Had  not  Washington 
been  so  near,  it  is  probable  that  Arnold  would  have 
used  his  authority  to  liberate  the  British  officer,  and 
then  governed  his  own  conduct  by  circumstances ; 
but  the  presence  of  that  illustrious  man  was  fated  to 
be  of  service  to  his  country  in  more  ways  than  one. 
As  has  been  seen,  the  traitor  had  only  time  to  con- 


214       TREASON  CONFINED  TO  ARNOLD. 

suit  his  own  selfish  apprehensions.  He  fled  like  a 
thief. 

La  Fayette,  still  ignorant  of  what  had  occurred, 
was  dressing  for  dinner,  when  his  aide,  M'Henry,  en 
tered  for  his  pistols.  Without  explanation,  he  and 
Hamilton  mounted  their  horses,  and  gallopped  through 
the  passes  of  the  mountains,  in  order  to  interrupt  the 
flight  of  Arnold.  It  has  since  appeared,  that  the  of 
ficer  in  advance  (a  Colonel  Jamieson)  had  despatched 
his  first  messenger  with  the  report  that  had  reached 
the  hands  of  Arnold  before  examining  the  papers,  but 
that  he  lost  no  time  in  repairing  the  mistake  the  in 
stant  he  had  perused  them.  This  short  interval  saved 
the  life  of  Arnold,  and  forfeited  that  of  his  associate. 
When  Washington  and  La  Fayette  met,  the  former 
put  the  report  of  Jamieson  into  the  hands  of  the  latter, 
and  said,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  "  Arnold  is  a  traitor, 
and  has  fled  to  the  British!"  General  Knox  was 
present  at  this  scene. 

Washington  now  sought  an  interview  with  the  wife 
of  the  traitor.  He  found  her  raving,  though  sensible  of 
his  presence  and  character.  She  implored  him  not  to 
injure  her,  and  was  so  completely  under  the  influence 
of  terror  as  to  beg  "  he  would  not  murder  her  child/' 
Commending  her  to  the  care  of  the  attendants,  he  left 
the  room.  Notwithstanding  the  immense  stake  that 
was  involved  in  the  treason,  and  his  entire  ignorance 
of  its  extent,  the  self-possession  of  this  extraordinary 
man  was  undisturbed.  For  a  single  moment  he  had 
appeared  to  mourn  over  the  moral  depravity  that 
could  expose  so  fair  a  cause  to  so  base  an  action, 
but  it  would  have  baffled  the  keenest  eye  to  have 
(raced  in  his  countenance  the  existence  of  the  slightest 
alarm.  He  entered  the  dining-room  calm  and  dig 
nified  as  usual,  and  apologizing  for  the  absence  of 
both  host  and  hostess,  he  invited  the  company  to  be 
seated.  It  was  only  in  the  course  of  the  entertain 
ment,  so  extended  and  complete  was  the  influence 


TREASON   CONFINED    TO   ARNOLD.  215 

of  his  collected  and  imposing  manner,  that  the  news 
of  the  event  was  circulated  from  ear  to  ear  in  whis 
pers. 

The  commandant  of  the  advanced  post  of  the  High 
lands,  at  Stony  Point,  was  at  hand.  This  officer  (a 
Colonel  Cole)  was  a  warm  friend  and  a  protege  of  Ar 
nold.  He  had  even  carried  his  attachment  so  far,  as 
to  have  fought  a  duel  in  defence  of  the  traitor's  char 
acter,  but  a  short  time  before  the  exposure  of  the 
treason.  Washington  now  sent  for  him.  "  Colonel,1' 
he  said,  "we  have  been  deceived  in  the  character  of 
General  Arnold;  he  has  betrayed  us.  Your  post  may 
be  attacked  this  very  night :  go  to  it  without  delay, 
and  defend  it,  as  I  know  you  will."  This  noble  con 
fidence  was  not  misplaced.  Cole  could  with  difficulty 
speak.  Pressing  his  hand  on  his  heart,  he  found 
words  merely  to  utter — "  Your  excellency  has  more 
than  rewarded  all  I  have  done,  or  ever  can  do  for  my 
country,"  and  departed.  Is  there  not  something 
noble,  and  worthy  of  the  best  days  of  classic  recol 
lection,  in  the  single-minded  and  direct  character 
which  marked  the  events  of  this  glorious  contest? 
One  loves  to  dwell  on  that  integrity,  which  having 
been  compelled  to  give  credit  to  one  act  of  baseness, 
refuses  to  believe  that  another  can  be  meditated.  I 
know  no  fact  more  honourable  to  the  American  char 
acter  than  the  one  which  proves  that,  notwithstanding 
the  great  trust  and  high  character  the  traitor  had  once 
enjoyed,  his  influence  ended  the  instant  he  was  known 
to  be  UIL worthy  of  confidence.  While  on  board  the 
Vulture,  he  essayed  in  vain  to  tempt  the  serjeant  and 
six  men,  who  composed  the  crew  of  his  own  boat,  to 
follow  his  fortunes,  though  every  offer  which  might 
tempt  men  of  their  class  was  resorted  to,  in  order  to 
induce  them  to  change  their  service.  "  If  General 
Arnold  likes  the  King  of  England,  let  him  serve  him," 
said  the  stubborn  serjeant ;  "  we,  love  our  country, 
and  intend  to  live  or  die  in  support  of  her  cause/' 


216         IMPUDENT  LETTER  OF  ARNOLD. 

The  traitor  must  have  felt  the  bitter  degradation  of 
his  fall,  even  in  this  simple  evidence  of  his  waning 
power.  Exasperated  at  their  refusal,  Arnold  would 
have  kept  them  as  prisoners,  but  the  English  captain 
was  far  too  honourable  to  lend  himself  to  so  disgrace 
ful  a  ti  ansaction.  They  returned  as  they  came,  under 
the  protection  of  a  flag. 

The  day  passed  away  in  the  reflections  and  pre 
cautions  ouch  a  discovery  would  be  likely  to  produce. 
In  the  evening  the  barge  returned  from  the  Vulture, 
bearing  an  insolent  letter  from  the  traitor  to  the  com- 
tnander-in-chief,  in  which,  among  other  undignified 
and  vain  threats,  he  denounced  the  vengeance  of  his 
new  masters,  unless  certain  conditions  which  he 
wished  to  impose,  were  implicitly  regarded.  The 
impetuous  character  of  Washington's  native  temper 
is  as  well  known  as  the  unrivalled  self-command  he 
had  acquired.  While  his  eye  glanced  over  this  im 
pudent  and  characteristic  communication  from  Ar 
nold,  it  appeared,  by  his  countenance,  as  if  a  burst  of 
mighty  indignation  was  about  to  escape  him.  Re 
covering  himself  as  it  were  by  magic,  he  turned  to 
one  of  his  aides  with  surprising  moderation  and  dig 
nity,  and  said,  "  Go  to  Mrs.  Arnold,  and  inform  her, 
that,  though  my  duty  required  no  means  should  be 
neglected  to  arrest  General  Arnold,  1  have  great 
pleasure  in  acquainting  her  that  he  is  now  safe  on 
board  a  British  vessel  of  war." 

It  ought  to  be  added  that,  while  the  American  gov 
ernment  proceeded  steadily  to  their  object  throughout 
the  rest  of  this  interesting  transaction,  guided  only  by 
their  reason,  and  utterly  disregarding  the  menaces  of 
the  English  general,  the  wife  of  the  traitor  continued 
to  receive  every  attention  which  delicacy  could  pre 
scribe.  She  was  permitted  to  go  first  to  her  friends 
in  Philadelphia,  and  soon  after  was  sent,  under  the 
protection  of  a  flag,  to  her  husband  in  New- York. 
There  is  something  consoling  to  humanity  to  find, 


SITUATION    OF    ANDRE.  2J7 

even  at  a  moment  when  war  is  assuming  its  most 
revolting  and  horrid  forms,  that  principles  can  be 
grafted  so  deeply  in  our  natures,  as  to  leave  no  feai 
that  the  more  sacred  ties  of  society  shall  be  in  danger 
of  violation,  and  that  the  feeble  and  dependent  may 
be  confident  of  receiving  the  tenderness  and  protec 
tion  which  are  their  due. 

The  fate  of  Andre  became  an  object  of  the  keenest 
solicitude  to  both  armies.  From  the  commencement 
of  the  struggle,  to  the  last  hour  of  its  continuance, 
the  American  authorities  had  acted  with  a  moderation 
and  dignity  that  gave  it  a  character  far  more  noble 
than  that  of  a  rebellion.  In  no  one  instance  had  the 
war  been  permitted,  on  their  part,  to  assume  the  ap 
pearance  of  a  struggle  for  personal  aggrandizement. 
It  was  men  battling  for  the  known  rights  of  human 
nature.  But  a  crisis  had  arrived  when  it  was  to  be 
seen  whether  they  would  dare  to  expose  the  defence 
less  of  their  land,  to  the  threatened  retaliation  of  a 
powerful  foe.  Such  is  the  wayward  feeling  of  man, 
that  it  is  far  less  offensive  to  his  power  to  kill  a  gen 
eral  in  open  conflict,  than  to  lead  a  subordinate  de 
liberately  to  an  execution,  which  is  sanctioned  only  by 
a  disputed  authority.  In  the  present  instance,  how 
ever,  the  offender  was  not  only  an  officer  of  a  high  and 
responsible  situation,  but  he  was  one  who  had  made 
himself  dear  to  the  army  by  his  amiable  qualities,  and 
eminently  useful  to  its  commander  by  his  attainments. 
I  think,  among  men  of  high  and  honourable  minds, 
there  can  be  but  one  opinion  concerning  the  merit 
of  his  enterprise.  There  is  something  so  repugnant 
to  every  loyal  sentiment  in  treason,  that  he  who  is 
content  to  connect  himself,  ever  so  remotely,  with  its 
baseness,  cannot  expect  to  escape  altogether  from  its 
odium.  It  is  true  that  public  opinion  has,  of  neces 
sity,  fixed  bounds  which  military  men  may  approach, 
without  committing  their  characters  for  manliness 
and  honour  Without  this  privilege,  it  is  plain  that 


218         OPINION  OF  ANDRE'S  ENTERPRISE. 

a  general  could  not  arrive  at  the  knowledge  which  is 
requisite  to  enable  him  to  protect  his  command  against 
attempts,  that  admit  of  no  other  control,  than  the 
law  of  the  strongest.  But  it  is  also  true,  that  the 
same  sentiment  has  said  it  is  dangerous  to  reputation 
to  pass  these  very  limits.  Thus,  while  an  officer  may 
communicate  with,  and  employ  a  spy,  he  can  scarcely 
with  impunity,  become  a  spy  himself.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  motive  and  the  circumstances  may  so 
far  qualify,  even  more  equivocal  acts,  as  to  change 
their  moral  nature.  Thus,  Alfred,  seeking  to  vindi 
cate  the  unquestionable  rights  of  his  country,  was  no 
less  invested  with  the  moral  majesty  of  a  king,  while 
wandering  through  the  Danish  camp,  than  when 
seated  on  his  throne ;  but  it  may  be  permitted  to 
doubt  whether  the  young  military  aspirant,  who  sees 
only  his  personal  preferment  in  the  distance,  has  a 
claim  to  be  judged  with  the  same  lenity. 

Major  Andre  was  the  servant  of  a  powerful  and 
liberal  government,  that  was  known  never  to  reward 
niggardly,  and  the  war  in  which  he  served,  was  waged 
to  aggrandize  its  power,  and  not  to  assert  any  of  the 
natural  rights  of  man.  With  doubtful  incentives,  and 
for  the  attainment  of  such  an  object,  did  this  accom 
plished  young  soldier  condescend  to  prostitute  his  high 
acquirements,  and  to  tamper  with  treason.  He  did 
more.  He  overstepped  the  coy  and  reserved  distance 
which  conscious  dignity  preserves,  even  while  it 
stoops  to  necessity,  and  entered  familiarly  and  per 
sonally  into  the  details  of  the  disgusting  bargain.  The 
mere  technicalities  of  posts  and  sentinels,  though  they 
may  be  important  for  the  establishment  of  rules  which 
are  to  soften  the  horrors  of  war,  can  have  but  little 
influence  on  the  moral  views  of  his  conduct.  The 
higher  the  attainments  of  the  individual,  the  greater 
must  have  been  the  flexibility  which  could  see  only 
the  reward  in  an  undertaking  like  this.  As  to  the 
commonplace  sentiment  of  serving  king  and  country, 


MOTIVES  FOR  HIS  PUNISHMENT.  219 

every  man  of  an  honest  nature  must  feel  that  he 
would  have  done  more  honour  to  his  sovereign  and 
to  himself  by  proving  to  the  world,  that  the  high  trust 
he  enjoyed  was  discharged  by  a  man  who  disdained 
lending  his  talents  to  the  miserable  work  of  decep 
tion,  than  by  degrading  his  office,  his  character,  and 
his  c,ame,  by  blending  them  all,  in  such  familiar  union, 
with  treachery.  In  short,  while  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  the  office  of  a  spy  may  be  made  doubly  honour 
able  by  its  motives,  since  he  who  discharges  the 
dangerous  duty  may  have  to  conquer  a  deep  moral 
reluctance  to  its  service,  no  less  than  the  fear  of 
death,  I  think  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  case  of 
Major  Andre  was  one  that  can  plead  no  such  extra 
ordinary  exemption  from  the  common  and  creditable 
feeling  of  mankind. 

The  Americans  were  determined  to  assert  the  dig 
nity  of  their  government.  The  question  was  not  one 
of  vengeance,  or  even  one  of  mere  protection  from 
similar  dangers  in  future.  It  involved  the  more  lofty 
considerations  of  sovereignty.  It  was  necessary  to 
show  the  world  that  he  who  dared  to  assail  the  rights 
of  the  infant  and  struggling  republics,  incurred  a 
penalty  as  fearful  as  he  who  worked  his  treason  against 
the  majesty  of  a  king.  The  calmness,  the  humanity, 
the  moderation,  and  the  inflexible  firmness,  with  which 
this  serious  duty  was  performed,  are  worthy  of  all 
praise.  While  the  English  general  was  vainly  resort 
ing  to  menaces,  the  American  authorities  were  pro 
ceeding  with  deliberation  to  their  object.  A  feeling 
of  universal  compassion  was  excited  in  favour  of  him 
who  had  been  captured,  which  probably  received 
some  portion  of  its  intenseness  from  the  general  indig 
nation  against  him  who  had  escaped.  While  the 
necessity  of  an  example,  in  an  offence  as  grave  as 
this,  was  felt  by  all,  it  required  no  peculiar  moral 
vision  to  see  that  the  real  criminal  was  free.  Some 
time  is  said  to  have  been  lost,  during  which  Wash- 


220  ADMIRABLE  CANDOUR  OP  ANDRE. 

ington  had  reasonable  hopes  of  capturing  Arnold,* 
in  which  case  he  intended  that  justice  should  be 
appeased  by  one  victim.  But  this  plan  was  frustrated 
by  an  unforeseen  occurrence,  and  then  it  became 
necessary  to  let  the  law  take  its  course. 

It  has  often  been  erroneously  stated,  that,  anxious 
to  vindicate  himself  in  the  eyes  of  foreign  nations, 
Washington  employed  the  European  generals  in  the 
service,  on  the  court  which  was  to  decide  the  fate 
of  Andre.  Every  general  officer  in  his  army  was 
a  member,  and  the  foreigners  were  necessarily  in 
cluded. 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  original  error  of 
Andre,  in  accepting  a  duty  of  so  doubtful  a  nature, 
there  is  but  one  opinion  of  his  subsequent  conduct. 
It  was  highly  noble  and  manly.  The  delicacy  of  the 
court,  and  his  own  frankness,  were  alike  admirable. 
Though  admonished  to  say  nothing  that  might  com 
mit  himself,  he  disdained  subterfuge,  or  even  con 
cealment.  A  pretence  had  been  set  up  by  the  British 
general,  that  he  had  entered  the  American  ranks, 
under  the  protection  of  a  flag.  He  was  asked  if  he 
himself  had  entertained  such  an  opinion.  "Had  I 
come  with  a  flag,  1  might  have  returned  with  a  flag;" 
was  his  noble  answer.  He  had  landed  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Highlands,  and  at  a  point  where  a  sentinel  had 
not  been  posted  for  a  long  time.  It  was  thought,  in 
the  army,  that  Arnold  had  caused  a  sentinel  to  be 
posted  there  anew  as  a  precaution  of  safety,  in  the 
case  of  detection.  He  might  have  pretended  that  his 
only  object  was  to  entrap  his  enemy.  Andre  himself 
confessed,  that  when  hailed  by  this  sentinel,  he  thought 
himself  lost.  This  confession,  alone,  had  other  proofs 
been  wanting,  was  enough  to  show  his  own  opinion 
of  the  legal  character  of  his  enterprise.  He  proceeded, 
however,  and  was  conducted  by  Arnold  farther  into 

*  See  History  of  Serjeant  Champe,  in  Lee's  Memoirs. 


HIS  NOBLE  CONDUCT,  AND  DISAPPOINTMENT.     221 

the  works,  (how  far  is  not  known,)  and  then,  he  con 
cluded,  after  having  confessed  these  circumstances 
himself,  "I  was  induced  to  put  on  this  wretched 
coat !"  laying  his  hand  on  the  sleeve  of  the  disguise 
he  had  assumed.  The  opinion  of  the  court  was 
unanimous  :  he  was  judged  to  come  perfectly  within 
the  technical  denomination  of  a  spy,  and  was  sen 
tenced  to  meet  the  fate  of  one. 

After  his  condemnation,  Major  Andre  received 
every  possible  indulgence.  A  fruitless  negotiation 
took  place  between  the  adverse  generals,  with  a 
hope,  on  the  part  of  Clinton,  to  intimidate,  and  on  the 
part  of  Washington  in  order  to  manifest  a  spirit  of 
moderation,  no  less  than  to  give  the  time  necessary  to 
complete  the  plan  to  arrest  the  arch-traitor.  It  was 
once  suggested  to  Andre  that  he  might  still  be  ex 
changed  for  Arnold.  "  If  Arnold  could — "  said  Ham 
ilton,  who  made  the  proffer.  "  Stop,"  returned  the 
condemned  man,  "such  a  proposition  can  never  come 
from  me." 

There  is  reason  to  think  that  Andre  had  soothed 
himself  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  captivity,  with  hopes 
that  were  fated  to  be  deceived.  It  had  been  the  mis 
fortune  of  the  English  to  undervalue  the  Americans, 
and  it  is  quite  in  nature  for  a  young  man,  who,  it  is 
well  known,  had  often  indulged  in  bitter  sarcasms 
against  enemies  he  despised,  to  believe  that  a  nation 
he  held  so  cheap,  must  have  some  of  his  own  awe  of 
a  government  and  a  power  he  thought  invincible 
It  is  certain  he  always  spoke  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
(the  English  commander-in-chief  )  with  the  affection 
and  confidence  of  a  child,  until  he  received  his  last 
letter,  which  he  read  in  much  agitation,  thrust  into 
his  pocket,  and  never  afterwards  mentioned  his  gen 
eral's  name.  He  confessed  his  ancient  prejudices, 
but  admitted  they  were  all  removed  by  the  tender 
treatment  he  had  received.  He  neither  acknowledged 
nor  denied  the  justice  of  his  sentence.  It  is  known, 
U2 


222   HIS  DEATH CONDUCT  OF  WASHINGTON. 

that  though  he  experienced  a  momentary  shock  al 
finding  he  was  to  suffer  on  a  gallows,  he  met  his  death 
heroically,  and  died  amid  the  tears  of  all  present. 

There  were  in  England  (naturally  enough  perhaps) 
many  who  affected  to  believe  this  execution  had 
sullied  the  fair  character  of  Washington.  But  these 
miserable  moralists  and  their  opinions  have  passed 
away ;  and  while  they  are  consigned  to  oblivion  to 
gether,  the  fame  they  thought  to  have  impeached  is 
brightening,  as  each  day  proves  how  difficult  it  is  to 
imitate  virtues  so  rare.  Among  impartial  and  intelli 
gent  men,  this  very  act  of  dignity  and  firmness, 
tempered  as  it  was  by  so  much  humanity,  adds  to  the 
weight  of  his  imposing  character. 

We  came-to  at  West  Point,  where  La  Fayette 
landed  amid  a  magnificent  uproar  of  echoes,  which 
repeated,  from  the  surrounding  mountains,  the  quick 
discharges  of  a  small  park  of  artillery.  The  great 
military  school  of  the  republic  is  established  here. 
The  buildings  stand  on  an  elevated  plain,  which  is 
washed  by  the  river  on  two  of  its  sides,  and  is  closely 
environed  with  rocky  mountains  on  the  others.  It  is 
altogether  a  wild  and  picturesque  scene,  equalling  in 
beauty  almost  any  that  I  remember  to  have  visited. 
Perhaps  a  better  site  could  not  possibly  have  been 
selected  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  is  at  present 
devoted,  than  West  Point.  The  tlkots,  who  are  to  all 
intents  young  soldiers,  enjoy,  by  means  of  the  river, 
and  the  great  number  of  steam-boats  that  pass  and 
repass  each  hour  of  the  day,  the  advantage  of  speedy 
communication  with  the  largest  town  in  the  country, 
while  they  are  as  completely  secluded  by  their  nearly 
inaccessible  mountains,  as  can  be  desired.  It  is  quite 
common  for  travellers  to  pass  a  few  hours  at  this  spot ; 
a  circumstance  which  affords  to  the  cadets  the  incen 
tive  of  a  constant  interest  in  their  establishment,  on 
the  part  of  the  better  portion  of  the  community,  while 
they  are  completely  protected  from  the  danger  of 


MILITARY  ACADEMY.  223 

intercourse  with  the  worst.  The  discipline,  order, 
neatness,  respectability,  and  scientific  progress  of  the 
young  men,  are  all  admirable.  It  is  scarcely  saying 
too  much  to  add,  that  perhaps  no  similar  institution 
in  the  world  is  superior.  In  Europe  the  military 
student  may  enjoy  some  means  of  instruction  that 
cannot  be  obtained  here,  (though  scarcely  in  the 
schools,)  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  high  moral 
advantages,  that  are  peculiar  to  this  country.  As 
detailed  reports,  however,  are  annually  made  con 
cerning  the  state  of  this  school,  it  is  unnecessary  for 
me  to  enter  into  a  more  minute  account  of  the  situa 
tion  in  which  I  found  it.  I  shall  therefore  content 
myself  with  adding,  that  there  are  between  two  and 
three  hundred  students,  who  devote  four  years  to  the 
school,  that  they  undergo  numberless  severe  examina 
tions,  and  that  those  who  are  found  wanting  are 
invariably  dismissed,  without  fear  or  favour,  while 
those  who  pass  are  as  regularly  commissioned  to  serve 
in  the  army  of  the  confederation. 


TO  THE  COMTE  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 


New- York, 

NEITHER  the  geographical  situation  of  the  United 
States,  nor  the  habits  of  their  citizens,  are  very  fa 
vourable  to  the  formation  of  a  military  character. 
Though  the  republic  has  actually  been  engaged  in 
six  wars,  since  the  year  1776,  only  two  have  been 
of  a  nature  to  require  the  services  of  land  troops  in 
the  field.  The  two  struggles  with  England  were 
close,  and  always,  for  the  number  engaged  in  the 


224  PHYSICAL    FORCE    OF   THE   MEN. 

combats,  obstinate  and  bloody,  but  the  episode  of  o 
war  with  France  in  1799,  the  two  with  Algiers,  and 
that  with  Tripoli,  only  gave  occasion  for  the  courage 
and  skill  of  the  marine. 

By  studying  the  character  of  the  people,  and  by 
looking  closely  into  their  history,  it  will  be  found 
that  they  contain  the  elements  to  form  the  best  of 
troops.  In  point  of  physique  they  are  certainly  not 
surpassed.  So  far  as  the  eye  can  judge,  I  should  say 
that  men  of  great  stature  and  strength  are  about  as 
common  in  America  as  elsewhere ;  while  small  men 
are  more  rare.  I  am  much  inclined  to  think  that  the 
aggregate  of  mere  animal  force  would  be  found  to  be 
somewhat  above  the  level  of  Europe  in  its  best  parts. 
This  is  not  at  all  surprising,  when  one  remembers 
the  excellence  and  abundance  of  nutriment  which  is 
within  the  reach  of  the  very  poorest.  Though  little 
men  are,  without  doubt,  seen  here,  they  are  by  no 
means  as  frequent  as  in  England,  in  the  southern 
provinces  of  France,  in  Italy  t  Austria,  and  indeed 
almost  every  where  else.* 

As  might  be  expected,  the  military  qualities  which 
the  Americans  have  hitherto  exhibited,  are  more  re 
sembling  those  which  distinguish  the  individual  char 
acter  of  the  soldier,  than  those  higher  attainments 
which  mark  an  advanced  knowledge  of  the  art  of  war* 
As  courage  in  its  best  aspect  is  a  moral  attribute,  a 
nation  of  freemen  must  always  be  comparatively 
brave.  In  that  collective  energy  which  is  the  fruit  of 
discipline,  the  Americans,  except  in  a  few  instances, 
have  been  sadly  deficient ;  but  in  that  personal  spirit, 
for  which  discipline  is  merely  a  substitute,  they  have 
as  often  been  remarkable.  They  are  certainly  the 
only  people  who  have  been  known  to  resist,  with 
repeated  success,  in  their  character  of  armed  citizens, 


*  The  writer  afterwards  found  what  he  is  almost  tempted  to 
call  a  race  of  big  men  in  the  south-western  States. 


MILITIA ITS   CHARACTER A   COMPARISON.    225 

the  efforts  of  the  disciplined  troops  of  modern  times. 
The  militia  and  national  guards  of  Europe  should  not 
be  compared  to  the  militia  of  America,  for  the  for 
mer  have  always  been  commanded  and  drilled  by 
experienced  soldiers ;  while  the  latter,  though  regu 
larly  officered,  have  been  led  to  the  field  by  men  in 
all  respects  as  ignorant  as  themselves.  And  yet, 
when  placed  in  situations  to  rely  on  their  personal 
efforts,  and  on  their  manual  dexterity  in  the  use  of 
arms,  they  have  often  been  found  respectable,  and 
sometimes  stubborn  and  unconquerable  enemies. 

The  investigation  of  this  subject  has  led  me,  per 
haps,  into  a  singular  comparison.  At  the  great  battle 
of  Waterloo,  the  actual  English  force  in  the  field  is 
said  to  have  been  36,000  men.  These  troops  un 
dauntedly  bore  the  assault  of  perhaps  rather  more 
than  an  equal  number.  This  assault  was  supported 
by  a  tremendous  train  of  artillery,  and  directed  by 
the  talents  of  the  greatest  captain  of  the  age.  It  en 
dured,  including  the  cannonading  of  the  artillery,  for 
at  least  five  hours.  The  official  account  of  the  British 
loss  is  9,999  men,  killed  and  wounded.  At  the  affah 
of  Bunker's  hill,  the  Americans  might  have  had  be 
tween  2,000  and  2,500  yeomen  actually  engaged 
Though  these  men  were  marshalled  in  companies 
their  captains  knew  little  more  of  military  servict 
than  the  men  themselves.  There  was  positively  no 
commander,  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  word.  Thr 
aptitude  of  these  people  soon  enables  them  to  assume 
the  form  of  an  army ;  but  it  is  plain  that  nothing  ex 
cept  practice  can  impart  the  habits  necessary  to  create 
good  troops.  At  Bunker's  hill,  they  enjoyed,  in  theii 
preliminary  proceedings,  the  advantage  of  a  certain 
degree  of  order  and  method,  that  elevated  them  some 
thing,  it  is  true,  above  an  armed  mob  ;  but  it  is  prob 
able  that  they  could  not  have  made,  with  any  tolera 
ble  accuracy,  a  single  complicated  movement  at  their 
greatest  leisure,  much  less  in  the  confusion  of  a  com- 


226    LOSSES  or  WATERLOO  AND  BUNKER'S  HILL. 

bat.  Just  so  far,  then,  as  the  ability  to  place  them 
selves  behind  their  imperfect  defences  with  a  certain 
military  front  was  an  advantage,  they  might  be  deem 
ed  soldiers ;  but  in  all  other  respects  they  were 
literally  the  ordinary  inhabitants  of  the  country,  with 
very  indifferent  fire-arms  in  their  hands.  A  great 
deal  has  been  said  of  the  defences  and  of  the  position 
of  Bunker's  hill.  It  is  not  possible  to  conceive  a  re 
doubt  better  situated  for  an  assault  than  the  little 
mound  of  earth  in  question.  It  could  be  approached 
within  a  short  distance  with  perfect  impunity,  and 
might  easily  be  turned.  It  was  approached  in  this 
manner,  and  it  was  turned.  As  to  the  rail  fences  on 
the  level  land  beneath,  where  much  of  the  combat 
was  fought,  and  where  the  British  were  twice  repulsed 
with  terrible  loss,  the  defences  were  rather  ideal  than 
positive.  Now,  against  this  force,  and  thus  posted, 
the  English  general  directed  3,000  of  his  best  troops. 
His  attack  was  supported  by  field  artillery,  by  the  fire 
of  a  heavy  battery  on  an  adjacent  height,  and  by  that 
of  several  vessels  of  war.  The  Americans  were  in 
capable  of  making  any  movements  to  profit  by  the 
trifling  advantages  their  position  did  afford,  and  they 
had  no  artillery.  They  merely  remained  stationary 
to  await  the  assault,  relying  solely  on  that  quality  of 
moral  firmness,  and  on  that  aptitude  which  it  is  the 
object  of  this  statement  to  elucidate  by  a  comparison 
of  the  results  of  this  combat  with  the  results  of  Wa 
terloo.  The  English  made  three  different  attacks. 
Their  average  continuance  under  the  fire  of  the 
Americans  was  less  than  fifteen  minutes.  Their  loss 
was  certainly  1056  men,  and  possibly  more,  for  it  is 
not  probable  that  their  general  would  be  fond,  under 
the  peculiar  circumstances,  of  proclaiming  its  full 
extent  Here,  then,  assuming  our  data  to  be  true, 
(and  that  they  are  substantially  so  I  fully  believe,) 
we  have  a  greater  comparative  loss  produced  by 
2,500  husbandmen,  armed  solely  with  muskets,  in 


REASONS  TOR  APTITUDE  OF  THE  PEOPLE.       227 

forty-five  minutes,  than  was  produced  by  all  the 
reiterated  and  bloody  attacks  at  Waterloo.  After 
making  the  necessary  deductions  for  the  difference  in 
effect  between  great  and  small  numbers,  it  will  be 
found  that  there  is  something  peculiar  in  the  destruc 
tion  occasioned  by  the  peaceful  citizens  of  this  coun 
try.  I  should  not  have  drawn  this  comparison,  if  it 
were  not  to  demonstrate  what  I  believe  to  be  one  of 
the  inevitable  consequences  of  the  general  dissemina 
tion  of  thought  in  a  people.  The  sarne  directness  of 
application  is  observable  in  the  manner  that  the 
American  handles  his  arms,  as  in  handling  his  plough. 
The  battles  of  this  country,  both  by  sea  and  land, 
when  there  has  been  sufficient  inducement  to  make 
their  undisciplined  bodies  fight  at  all,  have  always 
been  distinguished  for  their  destruction.  Many  of 
their  officers  have  been  so  certain  of  the  fatal  effects 
of  their  own  fire  as  to  have  implored  their  men 
(militia)  to  give  but  two  or  three  discharges,  and 
they  would  answer  for  the  victory  with  their  heads. 
No  doubt  they  often  failed  in  their  entreaties,  for  the 
history  of  their  wars  is  full  of  frank  and  manly  ac 
knowledgments  of  cases  in  which  the  militia  yielded 
to  the  force  of  nature;  but  it  is  also  full  of  instances  in 
which  their  eloquence  or  influence  had  more  effect, 
and  these  have  always  proved  fatally  destructive  to 
their  enemies.  The  battle  of  New-Orleans  will  fur 
nish  a  subject  for  a  similar  comparison. 

There  is  another  point  of  view,  in  which  it  is  con 
solatory  to  study  the  short  military  history  of  this 
country.  The  States  of  New-England,  in  which  in 
formation  has  been  so  generally  diffused,  have  always 
been  the  most  dangerous  to  assail.  A  powerful  force 
(for  the  times  and  the  duty)  was,  in  the  war  of  1775, 
early  driven  disgracefully  from  their  soil  by  the  peo 
ple  of  New-England.  It  is  true,  rapid,  predatory  ex 
cursions  were  afterwards  made  in  the  country,  but 
always  under  the  protection  of  a  superior  naval  force, 


228        QUALITY  OF  TROOPS  WHEN  DISCIPLINED. 

and  with  the  most  jealous  watchfulness  of  detention. 
The  only  time  that  an  army  of  any  magnitude  was 
trusted  to  manoeuvre  near  their  borders  for  a  cam 
paign,  it  was  assailed,  surrounded,  and  captured. 
Such  are  the  fruits  of  intelligence,  disseminated  among 
a  people,  that,  while  it  adds  to  all  their  sources  of 
enjoyment,  it  gives  a  double  security  to  their  pos- 
session. 

It  would  be  vain  to  deny  the  excellence  of  the 
American  troops  when  properly  equipped  and  disci 
plined.  If  the  English  soldiers  are  admitted  to  be  as 
good  as  common,  the  Americans  are  equal  to  the  best. 
I  have  examined  with  deep  interest  the  annals  of  both 
their  wars,  and  I  can  find  but  a  solitary  instance  in 
which  (other  things  being  equal)  their  disciplined 
troops  have  been  defeated  in  open  combat.  Their 
generals  have  often  been  out-mano2uvred  and  de 
servedly  disgraced ;  but  their  disciplined  soldiers, 
when  fairly  engaged,  have,  except  in  the  case  named 
(Hobkirk's  hill,)  invariably  done  well.  The  instances 
in  which  drilled  soldiers  have  been  left  to  their  own 
efforts,  are  certainly  rare,  compared  to  those  in  which 
they  have  been  blended  with  nominal  regulars  and 
militia ;  but  they  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  show 
the  qualities  of  the  troops.  I  refer  you  to  the  affairs 
of  Cowpens,  Eutaw,  and  to  the  whole  war  of  the 
south,  under  Greene,  which  was  almost  all  the  service 
that  was  exclusively  done  with  drilled  men  in  the 
revolution,  and  to  the  battles  on  the  Niagara,  during 
the  late  war.  There  are  also  many  instances  in  which 
the  regular  troops  (drilled  men)  did  excellent  service^ 
in  battles  where  they  were  defeated  in  consequence 
of  being  too  few  to  turn  the  fate  of  the  day. 

It  is  another  evidence  of  the  effects  of  general  intel 
ligence,  that,  disciplined  or  not,  the  Americans  are 
always  formidable  when  entrenched.  They  have  been 
surprised  (not  as  often,  perhaps,  as  they  have  surpris 
ed,)  taken  by  siege,  though  rarely,  and  frequently  di&- 


PRESENT  DISPOSITION  OF  THE  COUNTRY.       229 

graced  by  the  want  of  ability  in  their  chiefs,  but  sel 
dom  carried  by  open  assault.  Indeed,  I  can  find  but 
one  instance  of  the  latter  (if  Bunker's  hill  be  excepted, 
where  they  retreated  for  want  of  ammunition,  after 
repelling  the  English  as  long  as  they  had  it,)  in  a  case 
of  any  importance,  and  in  that  the  assault  partook  ot 
the  nature  of  a  surprise  (Fort  Montgomery.)  There 
are  fifty  instances,  on  the  contrary,  in  which  they  have 
given  their  foes  a  rough  reception,  both  against  attacks 
by  land  and  by  sea.  Bunker's  hill  was  certainly  a 
victory,  while  the  means  of  resistance  lasted.  To  these 
may  be  added,  the  affairs  of  New-Orleans,  Fort 
Mifflin,  Fort  Moultrie,  Sandusky,  Red  Bank,  Tiger 
River,  Fort  Erie,  and  numberless  others. 

With  this  brief-  review  of  their  military  character, 
which  does  not  stand  as  high  as  it  deserves,  merely 
because  there  has  been  a  sad  dearth  of  efficient  leaders, 
capable  of  conducting  operations  on  a  concerted  and 
extensive  scale,  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that 
the  Americans  are  not  in  much  danger  of  being  the 
victims  of  a  conquest.  They  turn  the  idea  themselves 
into  high  ridicule.  Some  of  them  go  so  far  as  to 
assert,  that  Europe,  united,  could  not  subdue  a  people 
so  remote,  so  free,  and  protected  by  so  many  natural 
advantages.  It  is  very  certain,  that  whatever  Europe 
might  do  now,  she  could  not  overturn  this  republic, 
if  it  shall  remain  united,  fifty  years  hence. 

The  Americans  seem  quite  determined  that  a  future 
war  shall  not  find  them  so  entirely  without  prepara 
tion  as  the  last.  In  the  great  concerns  of  the  day,  few 
of  us,  in  Europe,  had  time  or  inclination  to  lend  our 
attention  to  the  details  of  that  war ;  and  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  actors,  and  perhaps  a  few  of  the  leading 
events,  little  is  known  of  it,  even  by  the  English  who 
were  parties  to  the  struggle.  As  I  intend  to  close 
this  chapter  with  a  brief  account  of  the  present  mili- 
tarv  svstem  of  the  United  States,  it  may  be  well  to 
X 


230  EST  MATE  OF  THE  FORCES  IN  1777. 

revert  to  the  means  they  employed  in  their  two  for 
mer  contests. 

The  insurrection  of  1775,  was  commenced  under 
every  military  disadvantage.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  Washington  kept  the  British  army  beleaguered  in 
Boston,  with  an  undisciplined  force  not  always  nu 
merically  superior,  and  which  was  for  a  long  period 
so  destitute  of  ammunition,  that  it  could  not  have 
maintained  a  sharp  conflict  of  half  an  hour.  Yet  the 
high  resolution  of  this  people  supported  them  in  the 
field,  not  as  an  enthusiastic  and  momentarily  excited 
mob,  but  as  grave  and  thoughtful  men,  intently  bent 
on  their  object,  and  who  knew  how  to  assume  such 
an  aspect  of  order  and  method,  in  the  midst  of  all 
their  wants,  as  should  and  did  impose  on  their  skilful 
and  brave  enemies.  Some  minute  calculations  may 
be  useful  in  furnishing  a  correct  opinion  of  that  con 
test,  and,  of  course,  in  enabling  us  to  judge  of  the  ef 
fects  which  intelligence  (the  distinctive  property  of 
the  American  community)  has  on  the  military  char 
acter  of  a  nation. 

In  the  year  1790,  there  were  in  the  United  States 
814,000  white  males  over  the  age  of  sixteen  (frac 
tions  are  excluded.)  It  is  known  that  the  population 
of  the  country  has  doubled  in  about  twenty-three 
years.  This  calculation  should  give  407,000  of  the 
same  description  of  males,  in  the  year  1 767  ;  or  about 
600,000  in  the  year  1779,  which  was  the  epoch  when 
the  final  issue  of  the  revolution  might  be  said  to  have 
been  decided  by  the  capture  of  Burgoyne.  If  we 
deduct  for  age,  physical  disabilities,  religious  scruples, 
(as  among  the  Quakers,)  and  disaffection  to  the  cause, 
1 00,000,  a  number  probably  greatly  within  the  truth, 
we  shall  have  half  a  million  of  men  capable  of  bear- 
;ng  arms,  to  resist  the  power  of  Britain.  I  am  sen 
sible  that  this  enumeration  rather  exceeds  than  falls 
short  of  the  truth.  England  employed,  at  one  time, 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1776.  23  4 

not  less  than  fifty  thousand  soldiers  to  reduce  the  re 
volted  colonies,  and  she  was  in  possession  of  all  the 
strong  holds  of  the  country,  at  the  commencement  of 
the  contest.  The  half  million,  badly  armed,  without 
supplies,  discipline,  money,  or  scarcely  any  other 
requisite  but  resolution,  were  scattered  over  a  wide 
surface,  a  fact  which,  though,  with  their  intelligence, 
and  determination,  it  was  favourable  to  their  success, 
without  it  would  have  assured  their  defeat  in  detail. 
The  formidable  army  of  their  enemies  was  sustained 
by  the  presence  of  powerful  fleets  ;  was  led  by  expe 
rienced  generals,  and  always  fought  bravely,  and  with 
perfect  good  will.  Yet  what  was  it  able  to  perform? 
From  New-England,  the  only  portion  of  the  whole 
country  where  a  tolerably  dense  population  existed, 
a  great  force  was  early  expelled  in  disgrace.  A  few 
cities  on  the  sea-coast  were  held  by  strong  garrisons, 
which  rarely  ventured  out  with  success.  The  only 
great  expedition  attempted  in  the  north,  was  signally 
defeated.  In  the  middle  districts,  marches  of  one  or 
two  hundred  miles  were  made,  it  is  true,  and  several 
battles  were  fought,  commonly  to  the  advantage  of 
discipline  and  numbers ;  but  in  the  only  instance 
where  an  extended  chain  of  communication  was  at 
tempted,  it  was  destroyed  by  the  vigour  of  Washing 
ton.  In  the  south,  a  scattered  population,  and  the 
presence  of  slaves,  allowed  a  temporary,  but  a  treach 
erous  success.  Reverses  soon  followed ;  the  con 
quered  territory  was  regained,  and  triumph  ensued 
This  is  a  summary  of  the  outline  of  that  war.  If  to 
the  soldiers,  be  added  the  seamen  of  the  fleet,  a 
species  of  force  nearly,  or  quite,  as  useful  in  such  a 
war  as  the  troops,  there  could  scarcely  be  less  than 
80,000  men  employed  in  endeavouring  to  reduce  the 
malcontents.  When  the  magnitude  of  the  stake,  and 
the  power  of  Britain,  be  considered,  this  number  will 
scarcely  appear  sufficient.  Here,  then,  admitting 
these  estimates  to  be  just,  you  have  a  regular,  com- 


232  BAD  POLICY  PURSUED  IN  1812. 

bined  and  disciplined  force  of  80,000  men,  aided  by 
large  bodies  of  the  disaffected  to  the  American  cause, 
contending  against  an  unprovided,  scattered,  popula 
tion  of  half  a  million  of  males,  who  had  to  resist,  to 
till  their  land,  and  to  discharge  all  the  customary  obli 
gations  of  society.  The  aid  of  the  French  was  cer 
tainly  of  great  use  to  shorten  the  conflict ;  but  the 
men  who  had  gone  through  the  dark  period  of  1776, 
'77,  and  '78,  and  who  had  cleared  the  southern  and 
eastern  States,  by  their  own  exertions,  were  not  likely 
to  submit  to  a  power  they  had  so  often  baffled. 

In  the  war  of  1812,  the  country  was  much  better 
provided,  though  still  miserably  defective  in  military 
preparation,  and  in  scientific  knowledge.  The  whole 
population  was  about  8,000,000,  and,  though  joined 
as  one  man  on  the  subject  of  independence,  and  the 
maintenance  of  territory,  nearly  equally  divided  on 
the  question  of  the  policy  of  the  war.  A  capital 
blunder  was  committed  at  the  very  commencement 
of  the  struggle.  Instead  of  placing  young  and  talented 
men  at  the  head  of  the  armies,  officers  of  the  revolu 
tion  were  sought  for  to  fill  those  situations.  The 
Greenes,  the  Waynes,  the  Lincolns,  Knoxes,  &c.  of 
that  war  had  followed,  or  preceded,  their  great  chief 
to  the  tomb,  and  few  or  none  were  left,  of  sufficient 
distinction,  to  yield  a  pledge  for  their  future  useful 
ness.  The  very  fact  that  a  man  had  served  in  a 
revolution  without  falai,  should  have  been  prima 
facie  evidence  of  his  incapacity.  Still,  ancient  offi 
cers,  who  had  commanded  regiments,  or  battalions, 
in  the  war  of  1770,  were  thought  preferable  to  those 
who  had  acquired  their  information  in  studying  the 
more  modern  tactics.  The  result  proved  as  might 
be  expected.  Not  a  single  officer  of  the  old  school 
(one  excepted)  did  any  thing  to  justify  his  appoint 
ment,  while  several  of  them  inflicted  heavy  disgraces 
on  the  arms  of  the  country.  The  exception  was  Gen 
eral  Jackson,  who  was  far  too  young  to  have  arrive^ 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812.        233 

at  eminence  in  the  revolution,  and  who  .gained  his 
renown  by  departing  from  the  Fabian  policy  of  that 
struggle,  instead  of  pursuing  it. 

The  last  war  commenced  in  the  middle  of  1312, 
and  terminated  at  the  commencement  of  1 8 1 5.  With 
the  usual  exceptions  of  personal  enterprise  and  cour 
age,  the  two  first  campaigns  were  disgraceful,  expen 
sive,  and  unmilitary.  But  time  was  already  beginning 
to  correct  the  blunders  of  a  fatal  prejudice,  or  rather 
fatal  partiality.  Men  of  character  and  talents  forced 
themselves  into  notice ;  and  although  there  existed, 
in  the  conceptions  of  the  manner  in  which  the  war 
was  to  be  conducted,  a  most  lamentable  impotency 
in  the  cabinet,  the  campaign  of  1814  was  brilliant  in 
achievement.  With  the  solitary  exception  of  a  rapid 
expedition  to  Washington,  through  a  barren  and 
nearly  uninhabited  country,  the  English  were  not 
successful  in  a  single  attempt  of  any  importance. 
Four  bloody  affairs  were  fought  on  the  Niagara,  to 
the  advantage  of  the  Americans ;  formidable  inva 
sions  on  the  north  and  on  the  south  were  successfully, 
and,  in  one  instance,  brilliantly  repelled ;  and,  in  fine, 
the  troops  of  the  confederation,  better  drilled,  and 
better  led,  began  to  exhibit  some  of  the  finest  qualities 
of  first-rate  soldiers.  There  is  no  doubt  that  England 
nobly  maintained  her  colonies,  which,  of  necessity, 
became  the  disputed  point  in  such  a  war ;  but  it  is 
just  as  true,  that  so  soon  as,  encouraged  by  finding 
herself  unexpectedly  released  from  her  great  Euro 
pean  struggle,  she  attempted  conquest  in  her  turn, 
she  was  quite  as  signally  foiled. 

Another  quarter  of  a  century  may  be  necessary  to 
raise  the  United  States  to  the  importance  of  a  first 
rate  power,  in  the  European  sense.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  their  population  will  be  about  25,000,000, 
which,  though  not  compact,  according  to  our  ideas, 
will  be  sufficiently  available  for  all  military  purposes, 
by  means  of  the  extraordinary  facilities  of  intercom- 
X2 


234  MILITARY  POWER  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

munication  that  already  exist,  and  are  hourly  increas 
ing  in  the  country.  I  think,  before  that  period  ar 
rives,  the  republic  will  be  felt  as  a  military  (or,  more 
properly,  a  naval)  power,  in  the  affairs  of  Christen 
dom.  What  she  will  become  before  the  end  of  the 
century,  must  depend  more  on  herself  than  on  any 
thing  the  rest  of  the  world  can  do  to  forward,  or  to 
retard,  the  result. 

The  present  military  condition  of  the  United  States, 
though  far  from  imposing,  is  altogether  more  respect 
able  than  it  has  ever  before  been.  One  who  is  ac 
customed  to  see  kings  manoeuvre  large  bodies  of 
household  troops  as  their  ordinary  playthings,  might 
smile  to  be  told  that  the  whole  army  of  this  great 
republic  contains  but  6,000  men.  The  Bourbons 
seldom  lie  down,  dear  Count,  without  as  strong  a 
force  to  watch  their  slumbers.  But  he  who  estimates 
the  power  of  this  people  to  injure,  or  to  resist,  by  the 
number  of  its  regular  troops,  makes  a  miserable  blun 
der.  The  habit  of  discipline  and  the  knowledge  of 
military  details  are  kept  alive  by  the  practice  of  this 
small  force.  They  are  chiefly  employed  on  the  west 
ern  frontier,  or  they  garrison,  by  companies,  the  posts 
on  the  seaboard.  They  answei  all  the  objects  of 
preserving  order  on  the  one,  and  of  guarding  the  pub 
lic  property  in  the  other.  But  the  vast  improvement 
of  the  country  is  in  the  progress,  and  in  the  gradual 
diffusion  of  professional  knowledge.  All  the  subor 
dinate  ranks  in  this  little  army  are  filled  by  young 
men,  who  have  received  rigid  military  educations, 
tempered  by  a  morality,  and  a  deference  to  the  insti 
tutions  of  the  land,  that  are  elsewhere  little  cultivated, 
and  which  tend  to  elevate  the  profession,  by  render 
ing  a  soldier  strictly  the  support,  and  not  the  master 
of  the  community. 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  jealousy  of  the  Ameri 
cans  will  ever  admit  of  the  employment  of  a  very 
large  regular  force  in  time  of  peace.  They  prefer 


INFLUENCE  OF  GENERAL  INTELLIGENCE.         235 

trusting  to  the  care  of  armed  citizens.  Though  the 
militia  never  can  be,  compared  with  its  numbers,  as 
formidable  as  disciplined  troops,  it  is  certainly  suffi 
cient  to  maintain  order,  and  to  resist  invasion.  With 
respect  to  the  two  latter  objects,  you  may  possibly 
believe  that  America  is  peculiarly  favoured  by  her 
geographical  situation.  It  is  scarcely  fair  for  govern 
ments  to  refuse  to  give  a  population  the  necessary 
degree  of  intelligence,  and  then  to  say  it  will  be  dan 
gerous  to  entrust  them  with  arms.  We  know  that  a 
child  may  do  mischief  with  a  weapon,  but  we  also 
know  that  Nature  has  decreed  that  the  time  shall  come 
when  it  may  be  made  highly  useful  to  him.  For 
my  part,  I  (irmly  believe,  that  if  Europe  would  put 
the  school-book  into  one  hand,  the  other  might  be 
safely  trusted  with  the  musket.  It  is  commonly  the 
interest  of  the  vast  majority  in  every  nation  to  pre 
serve  order ;  and  they  will  certainly  do  it  best,  if  the 
means  are  freely  furnished.  When  the  interests  of 
the  majority  are  in  favour  of  a  change,  there  is  some 
thing  very  like  true  wisdom  and  justice  in  permitting 
it.  Fancy,  for  a  moment,  twelve  or  fifteen  millions, 
resembling  the  population  of  New-England,  in  posses 
sion  of  a  sufficient  territory  in  the  heart  of  Europe, 
every  man  with  a  musket,  a  reasonable  supply  of 
military  munitions  in  readiness,  and  a  moderate,  dis 
ciplined  force  to  furnish  the  nucleus  of  a  regular  army. 
What  nation  could  hope  to  invade  them  with  success? 
It  is  very  true  that  the  King  of  Prussia,  now,  is  proba 
bly  more  dangerous  to  his  neighbours  than  he  would  be 
at  the  head  of  such  a  nation ;  but  a  good  deal  of  the  truth 
of  all  these  questions  lies  in  the  fact,  whether  a  nation 
is  any  the  better  for  being  externally  so  very  formi 
dable.  Three  or  four  communities,  intelligent,  content 
with  their  condition,  and  intrusted  with  arms,  like 
the  Americans,  properly  dispersed  over  the  surface 
of  Europe,  would  be  sufficient  to  insure  the  tranquil 
lity  of  one  quarter  of  the  globe  of  themselves.  It  is 


236  THE  BALANCE  OF  POWER. 

odd  enough  that  the  world  should  have  been  con 
tending  so  long  about  the  balance  of  power,  without 
hitting  on  the  cheapest  mode  of  effecting  it.  Ink 
costs  far  less  than  gunpowder;  and  no  reasonable 
man  can  doubt  that,  if  properly  expended,  it  would 
go  farther,  in  one  generation,  to  establish  the  natural 
and  useful  boundaries  of  nations,  than  rivers  of  blood. 
It  is  not  a  century  since  the  fate  of  the  British  empire 
was  decided  by  less  than  twenty  thousand  soldiers. 
It  became  Protestant,  when  it  might  have  been  Cath 
olic.  Here  was  a  balance  of  power,  so  far  as  Eng 
land  and  her  dependencies  were  concerned,  settled 
by  a  handfull  of  men.  It  would  require  Europe 
united  to  do  the  same  thing  over  again,  and  all  be 
cause  new  generations  have  acquired  more  liberal 
ideas  of  their  natural  rights.  And  yet  England  is  far, 
in  this  particular,  very  far,  from  what  she  might  be. 
Even  this  country  has  still  a  great  deal  to  do  in  ad 
vancing  the  mighty  work  of  education. 

We  have  an  obstinate  habit  of  insisting  that,  though 
America  is  prospering  with  all  her  freedom  and 
economy,  her  system  would  be  fatal  to  any  European 
nation.  I  once  ventured  to  assert  this  position  to  my 
travelling  friend,  who  met  my  opinion  by  bluntly  ask 
ing — "How  do  you  know  it?  In  what  age,  or  in 
what  country,  did  you  ever  try  the  experiment  ?  I 
grant  that  certain  desperate  political  adventures  have 
been  attempted,  in  which  a  few  good  men  have  joined 
a  great  many  bad  ones,  in  overturning  governments, 
and  that  the  mockery  of  liberty  has  been  assumed  by 
the  latter,  until  it  suited  their  convenience  to  throw 
aside  the  mask,  and  then  tyranny  has  succeeded 
to  the  temporary  deception,  as  a  perfect  matter  of 
course.  But  so  far  as  the  experience  of  Europe  goes, 
and  considering  the  question  altogether  in  a  military 
point  of  view,  1  think  it  will  be  found  that  the  freest 
nations  have,  c&teris  paribus,  always  been  found  the 
most  difficult  to  conquer.  I  might  quote  Scotland. 


FREE  PEOPLE  MOST  DIFFICULT  TO  CONQUER.      237 

Holland,  and  Switzerland,  in  favour  of  this  theory. 
You  will  say,  perhaps,  that  the  first  and  the  last  were 
more  indebted  for  their  independence  to  their  peculiar 
condition  and  poverty  than  to  any  actual  political 
institutions,  more  particularly  the  former.  Granted. 
And  yet  you  find  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  make  a 
man  feel  a  direct  interest  in  preserving  his  actual 
condition  to  make  him  resolute  in  defending  it.  One 
would  think  there  was  far  less  to  fight  for  in  the  hills 
of  Scotland,  than  in  the  plains  of  Italy ;  and  yet  Italy 
has  been  overrun  a  hundred  times  by  invaders,  and 
Scotland  never.  But  you  think  the  hills  and  the  fast 
nesses  composed  the  strength  of  Scotland  and  Wales. 
No  doubt  they  added;  but  will  any  man  accuse  the 
Netherlands,  particularly  Holland,  of  being  a  moun 
tainous  country  ?  Do  you  think  Napoleon  would 
have  ventured  to  march  his  vast  army  into  a  country 
so  remote  from  France  as  Russia,  had  the  latter  been 
peopled  with  20,000,000  of  Americans,  and  had  even 
the  climate  been  as  temperate  as  that  of  Paris?  What 
were  the  facts  in  similar  invasions,  though  certainly 
on  a  greatly  lessened  scale  ?  Ten  or  twelve  thousand 
yeomen,  intermingled  with  a  few  regular  troops,  who 
were  animated  by  the  same  spirit,  intercepted  and 
destroyed  Burgoyne,  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand 
regulars,  who  were  quite  as  good  troops  as  any  in 
the  imperial  guard.  Prevost,  at  the  head  of  an  ad 
mirable  force  of  many  thousand  men,  who  had  been 
fighting  the  best  battles  of  Europe,  was  checked  by 
a  handfull  of  countrymen,  and  would  have  shared  the 
fate  of  Burgoyne  near  the  same  spot,  had  he  not  been 
timely  admonished  to  make  a  disgraceful  retreat,  by 
the  fortune  of  his  predecessor.  Jackson,  with  some 
five  or  six  thousand  Tennesseans,  Kentuckians,  and 
Louisianians,  did  not  even  permit  his  enemy  to  involve 
himself  in  the  difficulties  of  a  distant  retreat.  The 
situation  of  a  wealthy  city  required  that  the  spirit  of 
these  freemen  should  be  shown  in  its  front;  and  well 


238  PRESENT  MILITARY  RESOURCES. 

did  they  make  it  known.  A  similar  fate  \\ould  have 
attended  the  excursion  to  Washington,  had  tmie  been 
given  for  arrangement,  and  the  collection  of  a  force 
sufficient  for  the  object.  But  the  experience  of  even 
the  most  despotic  governments  goes  to  show  how 
much  mure  formidable  they  become,  when  each 
man  is  made  to  believe  it  is  his  interest  to  resist  ag 
gression." 

But  the  Americans  appear  sensible,  that  while  the 
irresistible  force  of  every  nation  exists  in  giving  all 
of  its  citizens  the  deepest  possible  interest  in  its 
welfare,  they  do  not  neglect  such  rational  means  of 
rendering  their  numbers  as  effective  as  may  be,  with 
out  rendering  the  system  of  defence  unnecessarily 
burthensome.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  in  this 
respect  at  least  the  republic  is  greatly  favoured  b) 
its  geographical  position.  Removed  from  all  the  or 
dinary  dangers  of  external  aggression,  the  country  is 
able  to  advance  in  its  career  of  improvement,  with 
the  freedom  of  a  child,  whose  limbs  are  permitted  to 
grow,  and  whose  chest  expands,  unshackled  by  the 
vicious  effects  of  swaddlings,  or  any  other  artificial 
correctives. 

Compared  with  its  state  in  1812,  the  present  mili 
tary  condition  of  the  United  States  presents  the  fol 
lowing  points  of  difference.  Instead  of  possessing  a 
few  indifferently  educated  graduates  of  an  infant  mili 
tary  school,  it  has  now  hundreds,  who  have  long  en 
joyed  the  advantages  of  far  higher  instruction.  The 
corps  of  engineers,  in  particular,  is  rapidly  inproving, 
and  is  already  exceedingly  respectable.  A  system  of 
order  and  exactitude  has  been  introduced  into  the 
police  and  commissariat  of  the  army,  which  will 
serve  to  render  any  future  force  doubly  effective, 
and  which  may  be  readily  extended  to  meet  the  ex 
igencies  of  the  largest  armies.  Formidable  fortresses 
have  been  erected,  or  are  in  progress  of  erection, 
which  will  give  security  to  most  of  the  coast,  and 


SENSITIVENESS  OF  THE  POPULATION.  239 

protection  to  the  commerce  of  the  country.  By  the 
aid  of  canals  and  great  roads,  armies  on  the  frontiers 
can  now  be  supplied  at  one  sixth  of  the  former  cost, 
and  in  half  the  time.  Arms,  artillery,  and  all  the 
munitions  of  war,  woollen  and  cotton  clothing,  in 
short,  the  whole  materiel  of  an  army,  could  now 
be  furnished  in  the  country  at  a  reasonable  cost; 
whereas,  as  late  as  1812,  the  Americans  were  so  en 
tirely  dependent  on  their  enemy  for  a  supply,  that 
regiments  were  absolutely  unable  to  march  for  want 
of  so  simple  an  article  as  blankets.  The  population 
has  advanced  from  8  to  12,000,000,  and  the  revenue 
in  even  a  greater  proportion.  The  debt  is  in  about 
the  same  ratio  to  the  inhabitants  as  before  the  war ; 
but  as  the  expenditures  are  not  increased  in  the  pro 
portion  of  the  revenue,  it  is  in  the  course  of  rapid 
extinguishment.  A  very  few  years  more  of  peace 
will  effect  this  desirable  object.* 

It  is  a  mistaken  idea  that  the  Americans  are  a  people 
so  much  engaged  in  commerce  as  to  be  indifferent 
to  the  nicer  points  of  national  honour  and  military 
renown.  It  is  far  more  true  to  describe  them  as  a 
people  who  have  hitherto  been  removed  from  the 
temptation  of  aggression,  and  in  whom  the  native 
principles  of  justice  have,  in  consequence,  never  been 
weakened.  One  hears  a  great  deal  in  France,  among 
the  upper  classes,  of  the  French  honour,  and  in  Eng 
land  of  British  character,  &c.  &c. ;  but  neither  of  these 
nations  has  ever  manifested  one  half  the  jealous 
watchfulness  of  their  rights  as  these  simple  repub 
licans.  They  dared  the  war  of  their  independence 
in  the  maintenance  of  a  perfectly  abstract  principle, 
for  no  one  pretends  that  the  taxation  of  England  was 
oppressive  in  fact ;  and  at  this  hour,  it  becomes  very 
necessary  for  the  graver  heads  of  the  nation  to  temper 

*  The  average  amount  of  customs  for  ten  years  before  the 
war,  a  little  exceeded  12,000,000  of  dollars  a  year;  it  may  now 
be  stated  at  about  20,000,000. 


240  THEIR  PRESENT  ATTITUDE. 

the  public  mind,  at  the  smallest  rumour  of  any  assault 
on  their  dignity  or  national  character.  The  politicians 
are  moderate,  because  they  see  that  aggression  bears 
an  aspect  with  them  different  from  that  which  it 
assumes  towards  other  people.  An  aggression  by 
England,  foi  instance,  on  America,  is  much  like  an 
insult  offered  by  a  man  to  a  boy.  The  latter  may 
bear  it,  because  he  can  say  to  himself,  the  other  will 
not  dare  to  repeat  it  next  year.  Thus  the  American 
politician  reasons,  or  rather  has  reasoned,  that  time  is 
all-important  to  them.  Nations  do  not  often  go  to  war 
for  indemnity,  but  to  maintain  established  rights  by 
showing  spirit  and  force,  or  for  conquest.  Conquest 
the  Americans  do  not  need,  and  there  is  no  fear  of 
injuries  gro wing  into  precedent  against  a  people  who 
are  rich,  out  of  debt,  free,  intelligent,  intrinsically 
brave,  however  prudent  they  may  be,  and  who  in 
fifty  years  will  number  50,000,000  !  I  think,  however, 
that  the  spirit  of  the  people  rather  runs  ahead  of  their 
actual  force,  than  otherwise.  Perhaps  their  revolu 
tion  was  twenty  years  too  soon ;  and  now,  though 
lovers  of  peace,  and  frequently  religiously  indisposed 
to  war,  it  is  quite  easy  to  see  that  they  chafe,  to  a 
man,  at  the  idea  of  any  invasion  on  what  they  deem 
their  natural  rights. 

It  may  serve  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  different 
attitude  which  this  country  takes  in  1 825,  from  what 
it  maintained  in  181 2,  by  stating  two  facts.  Tt  is  well 
known  that  thousands  of  their  citizens  were  impressed, 
with  impunity,  into  the  British  navy  before  the  latter 
period.  There  was  a  false  rumour  the  other  day, 
that  a  similar  act  had  occurred  on  the  coast  of  Africa. 
I  heard  but  one  opinion  on  the  subject.  "  We  must 
have  explanation  and  justice  without  delay.'*1  Cad, 
wallader  says,  that  he  can  hardly  imagine  a  case  in 
which  two  or  three  impressments  (unless  subject  to 
clear  explanations)  would  not  now  produce  a  war. 
The  rumour,  that  England  was  to  become  mistress 


AMERICA  A  PEACEFUL  COUNTRY.  241 

of  Cuba,  has  also  been  circulated  during  my  visit. 
I  have  sought  opportunities  to  demand  the  conse 
quences.  The  answer  has  been,  at  least  five  times  in 
six,  "  war.11 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see,  that  the  day  is  at  hand 
when  this  republic  will  be  felt  in  the  great  general 
political  questions  of  Christendom.  It  may  then  be 
fortunate  for  humanity,  that  the  mighty  power  she 
will  shortly  wield,  is  not  to  be  exercised  to  satisfy  the 
ambition  of  individuals,  but  that  they  who  will  have 
to  bear  the  burthen  of  the  contests,  will  also  have  a 
direct  influence  on  their  existence.  Neither  the  insti 
tutions,  nor  the  necessities  of  America,  are  ominous 
of  a  thirst  for  conquest ;  but,  with  her  widely-spread 
commerce,  it  will  be  impossible  to  avoid  frequent 
and  keen  collisions  with  other  nations.  I  think,  for 
a  long  time  to  come,  that  her  armies  will  be  chiefly 
confined  to  the  defensive  ;  but  another  and  a  very 
different  question  presents  itself,  when  we  turn  our 
attention  towards  her  fleets. 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 
&c.  &c. 


New-York, 

AFTER  having  ascended  the  Hudson  as  far  as 
Albany,  in  company  with  La  Fayette,  and  taken  our 
leave  of  the  veteran,  our  faces  were  turned  west.  At 
that  place  we  saw  a  few  remaining  evidences  of  the 
Dutch,  in  the  names  and  in  the  construction  of  a  good 
many  houses;  but  the  city  (containing  about  16,000 
inhabitants)  is  chiefly  modern.  Our  route,  for  sixty 
or  seventy  miles,  was  along  one  of  the  great  thorough- 

Y 


242  DESCRIPTION  OF   A   TOUR  WESTWARD. 

fares  of  the  interior,  when  we  inclined  to  the  south, 
and  having  traversed  a  considerable  tract  of  country 
to  the  southward  of  the  beaten  track  of  travellers,  we 
entered  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  west  of  the  Sus- 
quehannah,  and  proceeded  to  Pittsburgh.  Thence 
we  descended  the  Alleghany  river  to  the  Ohio,  made 
a  wide  circuit  in  the  State  of  the  same  name,  and 
returned,  by  the  way  of  Lake  Erie,  to  Buffalo  (in 
New- York),  which  is  a  thriving  fresh-water  lake- 
port.  We  spent,  of  course,  a  few  days  examining  the 
mighty  cataract  of  Niagara,  and  in  visiting  the  shores 
of  Lake  Ontario.  On  our  return  east,  we  followed 
the  line  of  the  great  canal  as  far  as  Utica,  where  we 
made  a  diversion  towards  the  north,  for  a  couple  of 
hundred  miles,  in  order  to  permit  Cadwallader  to 
visit  an  estate  of  which  he  is  proprietor.  This  duty 
performed,  we  made  our  way  along  the  skirts  of  a 
wild  and  nearly  uninhabited  region,  to  the  famous 
watering  places  at  Saratoga  and  Ballstown  ;  passed 
the  Hudson  at  Troy,  and  crossing  a  spur  of  the  Green 
Mountains,  penetrated  Massachusetts  by  its  western 
border ;  traversed  a  small  portion  of  Connecticut  in 
a  new  direction  ;  re-entered  New-York  above  the 
Highlands,  through  which  we  journeyed  by  land,  and 
regained  this  city,  after  an  absence  of  about  six  weeks. 
We  must  have  travelled,  by  land  and  water,  between 
twelve  and  fifteen  hundred  miles. 

The  three  States  named,  are  computed  to  cover  a 
surface  of  about  131,000  square  miles  ;  being  a  little 
larger  than  the  two  islands  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
united.  Their  population,  at  the  present  time,  must 
be  something  short  of  four  millions.*  If  we  fix  it  at 


*  In  1820,  the  population  of  these  three  States,  by  the  general 
rensus,  was  3,003,614.  But  State  censuses  have  since  been 
taken  in  several  of  the  States.  The  Government  of  the  United 
States  causes  a  census  to  be  taken  once  in  ten  years,  commencing 
with  the  year  1790.  By  this  estimate  the  Representatives  foi 
Congress  are  apportioned.  When  the  States  cause  the  intei- 


riOTE  OF  THE  POPULAT'^N   IN  THREE  STATES.       243 

3,800,000,  which  is  probably  near  the  truth,  it  will 
leave  rather  more  than  twenty  souls  to  the  square 
mile.  This  is  perhaps  a  little  short  of  the  rate  of  the 
population  of  Russia  in  Europe,  and  more  than  one 
half  greater  than  that  of  the  kingdom  of  Sweden, 
exclusive  of  Norway.  But  the  same  remark  is  appli 
cable  to  those  States,  as  that  which  has  already  been 
made  of  New-England.  There  is  a  vast  district  in 
the  northern  portion  of  New- York,  which  is  not,  nor 
probably  will  not,  for  ages,  be  inhabited,  except  by  a 
few  hunters  and  lumber-men.*  It  must,  however,  be 
remembered,  that  these  States  possess  two  second- 
rate  towns — New-York  and  Philadelphia  :  the  former 
of  which  contains  200,000,  and  the  latter  150,000 
inhabitants.!  Those  portions  of  New-York  and  Penn 
sylvania  which  lie  in  their  eastern  sections,  have 
an  air  of  populousness  about  equal  to  that  already 
described  as  belonging  to  New-England.  The  same 
appearances  are  preserved  by  travelling  on  many  of 
the  great  routes  to  the  interior,  and  there  are  num 
berless  counties,  especially  in  New- York,  extending 
from  its  centre  very  nearly  to  its  western  border, 
which  not  only  appear,  but  which  in  truth  are  more 
populous  than  many  of  the  older  districts.  After 
having  left  the  Hudson  some  fifty  or  sixty  miles,  the 
most  material  points  of  difference  between  the  exter 
nal  aspect  of  New-England  and  of  these  States,  are  in 
the  newness  and  freshness  of  the  buildings,  orchards, 
&c.  &c.,  and  in  the  greater  recurrence  of  forest,  or 

mediate  census  to  be  taken,  it  is  to  answer  the  objects  of  their 
internal  policy.  The  representatives  for  the  State  legislative 
bodies  are  frequently  altered  to  meet  the  results.  The  census 
of  1820  gave  New-York  1,372,812  inhabitants;  that  of  1825, 
1,616,000  ;  the  increase  has  been  greatest,  however,  in  the  newer 
State  of  Ohio,  which  has  nearly  doubled  its  population  in  the 
few  intervening  years. 

*  Men  who  fell  the  trees,  and  convert  them  into  the  various 
objects  oi'  use,  such  as  staves,  shingles,  &c. 

t  1828. 


244    HABITS  OF  SETTLERS EUROPEAN  BLUNDERS. 

of  comparatively  half-formed  establishments,  in  the 
latter  than  in  the  former. 

You  will  always  remember  that  the  American,  in 
seeking  a  spot  for  his  establishment,  has  great  scope 
for  his  election ;  and  that,  in  consequence,  he  invari 
ably  seeks  the  more  fertile  lands,  or  such  spots  as 
afford  desirable  facilities  for  commerce  or  manufac 
tures.  Thus,  valleys  are  occupied  in  succession  fre 
quently  for  a  hundred  miles,  while  the  crests  of  the 
mountains  are  left  in  the  forest ;  the  fields  of  the  hus 
bandman  gradually  climbing  their  sides,  as  his  grow 
ing  riches  or  greater  necessities  shall  tempt  him  to 
apply  the  axe.  Some  of  the  best  of  the  land,  and 
many  of  the  best  agriculturists,  however,  are  often 
found  on  the  summits  of  hills  of  a  few  hundred  feet 
in  elevation.  I  think  it  is  rather  a  peculiarity  in 
American  scenery,  that  the  mountains  are,  in  com 
mon,  less  abrupt,  and  more  easily  to  be  tilled,  than 
with  us.  This  is  a  circumstance  which  adds  to  their 
usefulness  what  it  subtracts  from  their  beauty.  But 
where  such  a  variety  of  natural  formation,  no  less 
than  of  artificial  improvement,  exists  in  a  country,  it 
is  not  easy  to  convey  very  accurate  ideas  of  its  ap 
pearance,  in  a  few  words.  The  exceptions  are  so 
numerous  as  to  confound  the  images.  You  will  know 
how  to  make  the  proper  allowances  for  my  imper 
fect  descriptions,  and  I  shall  therefore  pursue  them, 
in  the  confidence  that  I  am  addressing  a  man  who 
will  not  believe  that  a  bear  is  to  be  seen  in  a  dwell 
ing,  because  he  was  told  one  was  met  in  a  forest  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  place  where  it  stands. 
This  confusion  of  ideas  is  the  blunder  of  Europeans, 
in  picturing  their  images  of  American  scenery  as  well 
as  of  republican  manners.  They  hear  of  churches, 
academies,  wild  beasts,  savages,  beautiful  women, 
steam-boats,  and  ships  ;  and,  by  means  of  a  very  su 
perficial  process,  I  am  satisfied  that  nine  in  ten  con 
tract  opinions  which  bring  wolf,  beauty,  churches, 


SAVAGES   UNKNOWN  IN   THE  OLDER  PARTS.       245 

and  i>ixty-gan  frigates  in  strange  and  fantastic  collision. 
Now,  when  one  is  in  a  thriving  settlement,  or  suc 
cession  of  settlements,  in  what  is  called  the  new 
country,  (and  they  are  seen  by  thousands  every 
where),  the  only  difference  between  the  aspect  of 
things  here  and  in  Europe,  is  in  the  freshness  of  ob 
jects,  the  absence  of  ancient  monuments,  the  ordinary 
national  differences  in  usages  and  arrangement,  an 
air  of  life  and  business,  always  in  favour  of  America, 
and  a  few  peculiarities  which  blend  the  conveniences 
of  civilized  life  with  the  remains  of  the  wilderness, 
in  a  manner  that  I  shall  shortly  attempt  to  describe. 

Once  for  all,  dear  Waller,!  wish  you  to  understand 
that — a  few  peaceable  and  half-civilized  remains  of 
tribes,  that  have  been  permitted  to  reclaim  small 
portions  of  land,  excepted — an  inhabitant  of  New- 
York  is  actually  as  far  removed  from  a  savage  as  an 
inhabitant  of  London.  The  former  has  to  traverse 
many  hundred  leagues  of  territory  to  enjoy  even  the 
sight  of  an  Indian,  in  a  tolerably  wild  condition  ;  and 
the  latter  may  obtain  a  similar  gratification  at  about 
the  same  expense  of  time  and  distance,  by  crossing 
the  ocean  to  Labrador.  A  few  degraded  descend 
ants  of  the  ancient  warlike  possessors  of  this  country 
are  indeed  seen  wandering  among  the  settlements, 
but  the  Indian  must  now  be  chiefly  sought  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  to  be  found  in  any  of  his  savage 
grandeur. 

Cases  do  occur,  beyond  a  doubt,  in  which  luckless 
individuals  are  induced  to  make  their  settlement  iu 
some  unpropitious  spot  where  the  current  of  emigra 
tion  obstinately  refuses  to  run.  These  subjects  of  an 
unfortunate  speculation  are  left  to  struggle  for  years 
in  a  condition  between  rude  civilization,  and  one  ap 
proaching  to  that  of  the  hunter,  or  to  abandon  their 
possessions,  and  to  seek  a  happier  section  of  the 
country.  Nine  times  in  ten,  the  latter  course  is 
adopted.  But  when  this  tide  of  emigration  has  set 
Y2 


246       THE  PROGRESS  OF  A  SETTLEMENT. 

steadily  towards  any  favoured  point  for  a  reasonable 
time,  it  is  absurd  to  seek  for  any  vestige  of  a  barba 
rous  life  among  the  people.  The  emigrants  carry 
with  them  (I  now  speak  of  those  parts  of  the  country 
I  have  seen)  the  wants,  the  habits,  and  the  institu 
tions,  of  an  advanced  state  of  society.  The  shop  of 
the  artisan  is  reared  simultaneously  with  the  rude 
dwelling  of  the  farmer.  The  trunks  of  trees,  piled 
on  each  other,  serve  for  both  for  a  few  years,  and 
then  succeed  dwellings  of  wood,  in  a  taste,  magnitude, 
and  comfort,  that  are  utterly  unknown  to  men  of 
similar  means  in  any  other  quarter  of  the  world, 
which  it  has  yet  been  my  lot  to  visit.  The  little 
school-house  is  shortly  erected  at  some  convenient 
point,  and  a  tavern,  a  store,  (the  American  term  for 
a  shop  of  all  sales,)  with  a  few  tenements  occupied 
by  mechanics,  soon  indicate  the  spot  for  a  church, 
and  the  site  of  the  future  village.  From  fifty  or  a 
hundred  of  these  centres  of  exertion,  spread  swarms 
that  in  a  few  years  shall  convert  mazes  of  dark  forests 
into  populous,  wealthy,  and  industrious  counties. 
The  manufactures  of  Europe,  of  the  Indies,  and  of 
China,  are  seen  exposed  for  sale,  by  the  side  of  the 
coarse  products  of  the  country;  and  the  same  indi 
vidual  who  vends  the  axe  to  fell  the  adjoining  forest, 
can  lay  before  your  eyes  a  very  tolerable  specimen 
of  Lyons  silk,  of  English  broadcloth,  of  Nankins,  of 
teas,  of  coffees,  or  indeed  of  mos-t  of  the  more  common 
luxuries  of  life.  The  number  and  quality  of  the  lat 
ter  increase  with  the  growth  of  the  establishment , 
and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  an  American  vil 
lage  store,  in  a  thriving  part  of  the  country,  where 
the  settlements  are  of  twenty  years'  standing,  can 
commonly  supply  as  good  an  assortment  of  the  manu 
factures  of  Europe,  as  a  collection  of  shops  in  any 
European  country  town;  and,  if  the  general  nature  of 
their  stock  be  considered,  embracing,  as  it  does,  some 
of  the  products  of  all  countries,  one  much  greater. 


DISAPPEARANCE  OF  THE   WILD   BEASTS.  247 

As  to  wild  beasts,  savages,  &c.  &c.  &c.,  they  have 
no  existence  in  these  regions.  A  solitary  bear,  or 
panther,  or  even  a  wolf,  wandering  near  the  flocks 
of  a  country  twenty  years  old,  has  an  effect  like  that 
produced  by  an  invasion.  In  the  earlier  days  of  the 
settlement,  it  is  a  task  to  chase  the  ravenous  beasts 
from  the  neighbourhood,  A  price  is  offered  foi  their 
heads,  and  for  a  time  a  mutual  destruction  against 
the  flocks  on  one  side,  and  the  beasts  on  the  other,  is 
the  consequence.  In  a  year  or  two,  this  task  is  re 
duced  to  an  occasional  duty.  In  a  few  more,  it  is 
sought  as  an  amusement :  and  ere  the  twenty  years 
expire,  the  appearance  of  a  wolf  among  the  Ameri 
can  farms  is  far  less  common  than  on  the  most  ancient 
plains  of  certain  parts  of  France.  Every  man  has 
his  rifle  or  his  musket;  and  every  man  not  only 
knows  how,  but  he  is  fond  of  using  them  against  such 
foes.  Thus,  you  see,  though  wild  beasts  may  be  per 
mitted,  like  Raphael's  Seraphim,  to  encircle  your  pic 
tures  of  American  manners  in  faint  relief,  they  must 
rarely  indeed  be  permitted  to  enter  into  the  action 
of  the  piece ;  more  especially  if  the  scene  be  laid  in 
any  of  the  settled  portions  of  the  three  States  that 
form  the  subject  of  this  letter. 

We  made  part  of  this  excursion  in  the  public 
stages,  part  with  hired  horses,  and  part  in  steam 
boats.  It  is  impossible  to  enter  on  a  description  of 
the  surface  of  the  country  we  saw,  for  it  included 
mountains,  valleys,  and  vast  plains,  intermingled  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  render  the  task  wearisome.  We 
had  gone  about  fifty  miles  west  of  Albany,  when  my 
companion  desired  the  vehicle  to  stop,  and  invited 
me  to  mount  a  gentle  ascent  on  foot.  On  reaching 
the  summit,  he  turned  and  pointed  to  a  view  which 
resembled  none  I  had  ever  before  witnessed. 

We  were  travelling  along  the  termination  of  a 
range  of  mountains,  which,  running  north  and  south, 
fell  gracefully  away,  in  the  former  direction,  into 


C248  AN  AMERICAN  INLAND  VIEW. 

what  is  called  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  before  they 
gradually  rose  again  on  the  other  side  of  that  river 
The  descent  and  the  ascent  were  very  similar,  the 
intervening  country  lying  in  broken  and  irregular  ter 
races,  which  often  had  the  appearance  of  fertile  val 
leys,  before  the  rich  bottoms  of  the  river  are  gained. 
Our  precise  position  was  on  the  very  brow  of  one 
of  the  most  projecting  spurs  of  this  broken  range, 
and  it  admitted  of  an  uninterrupted  prospect  to  the 
north-east,  and  to  the  north-west,  of  the  falling  coun 
try  in  our  front,  and  of  the  rising  hills  opposite,  that 
could  not  have  been  contained  in  a  circumference  of 
much  less  than  two  hundred  miles.  The  view  was 
limited  to  what  lay  in  advance  of  a  line  drawn  nearly 
east  and  west,  the  adjacent  mountains  presenting  ob 
stacles  to  our  vision,  further  south.  It  was  completely 
an  American  scene,  embracing  all  that  admixture  of 
civilization,  and  of  the  forest,  of  the  works  of  man, 
and  of  the  reign  of  nature,  that  one  can  so  easily 
imagine  to  belong  to  this  country. 

There  was  perhaps  an  equal  distribution  of  field 
and  forest.  The  latter  term  is  not,  however,  the  best, 
since  it  was  a  constant  succession  of  open  land  and 
of  wood,  in  proportions  which,  without  being  exactly, 
were  surprisingly  equal.  You  have  stood  upon  a 
height,  and  looked  down  upon  a  fertile  French  plain, 
over  which  agriculture  has  been  conducted  on  a  scale 
a  little  larger  than  common.  You  may  remember  the 
divisions  formed  by  the  hues  of  the  grains  of  the 
vineyards,  and  of  the  grasses,  which  give  to  the  whole 
an  air  so  chequered  and  remarkable.  Now,  by  ex 
tending  the  view  to  the  size  I  have  named,  and  en 
larging  these  chequered  spots  to  a  corresponding 
scale,  you  get  a  tolerably  accurate  idea  of  what  I 
would  describe.  The  dark  green  shadows  are  pro 
duced  by  the  foliage  of  a  wood,  reserved,  perhaps, 
for  the  use  of  half  a  dozen  farms,  and  lying  in  a  body, 
vsome  common  objection  to  culture  influencing  that 


EXTENT  AND  CHARACTER  OF  THE  VIEW.    249 

number  of  proprietors  to  select  adjacent  ground  for 
their  reservations,)  and  the  fields  of  golden  yellow, 
or  of  various  shades  and  hues,  are  produced  by  the 
open  fields.  The  distance  diminishes  the  objects  to 
the  eye,  and  brings  the  several  parts  so  much  in 
union,  as  to  lend  to  the  whole  the  variegated  aspect 
of  the  sort  of  plain  just  mentioned.  The  natural 
river  which  divides  this  glorious  panorama  in  nearly 
two  equal  parts,  with  its  artificial  rival,*  and  the 
sweet  meadows  that  border  its  banks,  were  conceal 
ed  beneath  the  brow  of  the  last  precipitous  descent. 
But  countless  farm-houses,  with  their  capacious  out 
buildings,  dotted  the  fields,  like  indicated  spots  on  a 
crowded  map.  From  those  in  the  near  view,  rose 
the  light  vapoury  summer  smoke.  The  fields  were 
alive  with  herds,  and  with  numberless  and  nearly 
imperceptible  white  atoms,  which,  but  for  their  mo 
tion,  it  would  not  have  been  easy  to  imagine  flocks. 
In  the  distance,  though  these  more  minute  objects 
were  lost,  habitations,  barns,  and  pyramids  of  hay  and 
of  grain,  could  be  distinguished,  until  the  power  of 
vision  failed.  Immediately  at  our  feet,  at  the  distance 
of  a  few  miles,  lay  a  wide,  rich  terrace,  intersected 
with  roads,  that  were  bordered,  as  usual,  by  scattered 
farm  buildings,  surrounded  by  their  granaries  and 
barns.  Near  its  centre,  a  cluster  of  buildings  assumed 
the  air  of  a  hamlet.  From  among  these  roofs,  rose 
the  spire  of  a  country  church.  I  was  told  that  a 
multitude  of  villages  lay  within  the  limits  of  the 
view ;  but  as  they  were  generally  placed  near  some 
stream,  for  the  advantage  of  its  water-power,  the  un 
even  formation  of  the  land  hid  them  from  our  sight. 
The  eye  overlooked  even  the  cities  of  Albany  and 
Troy,  and  rested,  in  that  direction,  on  some  of  the 
lesser  spurs  of  the  mountains  of  Vermont. 


*  The  great  canal,  360  miles  in  length. 


250         PROGRESS  OF  SETTLEMENTS. 

As  1  looked  upon  this  scene,  I  felt  it  only  wanted 
the  recollections  and  monuments  of  antiquity  to  give 
it  the  deepest  interest.  The  opinion  might  have 
escaped  my  lips,  amid  the  expressions  of  a  sincere 
delight.  My  companion  gently  touched  an  arm,  and 
directed  my  attention  from  the  view  to  himself.  He 
was  standing  at  my  elbow  with  an  open  map  of  the 
country  in  his  hand.  As  he  met  my  eye,  he  gravely 
said,  "  You  complain  of  the  absence  of  association  to 
give  its  secret,  and  perhaps  greatest  charm  which 
such  a  sight  is  capable  of  inspiring.  You  complain 
unjustly.  The  moral  feeling  with  which  a  man  of 
sentiment  and  knowledge  looks  upon  the  plains  of 
your  hemisphere,  is  connected  with  his  recollections; 
here  it  should  be  mingled  with  his  hopes.  The  same 
effort  of  the  mind  is  as  equal  to  the  one  as  to  the 
other.  .Examine  this  map.  You  see  our  position,  and 
you  know  the  space  that  lies  between  us  and  the  sea. 
Now  look  westward,  and  observe  how  many  degrees 
of  longitude,  what  broad  reaches  of  territory  must  be 
passed  before  you  gain  the  limits  of  our  establish 
ments,  and  the  consequent  reign  of  abundance  and 
civilization.11  Here  he  dropped  the  map ;  and  I 
fancied  he  even  spoke  with  solemnity,  as  he  con 
tinued — "Count ,"  he  said,  "you  see  that  I 

am  a  man  of  middle  age :  listen  to  what  even  my 
short  memory  extends.  Along  the  river  which  lies 
hid  in  the  deep  valley  before  us,  the  labours  of  man 
have  existed  for  more  than  a  century.  There  are 
one  or  two  shallow  streams  near  us,  along  which  the 
enterprise  of  the  settlers  early  directed  itself.  A  few 
miles  to  the  west,  we  shall  enter  a  little  valley, 
where  a  handfull  of  refugees  from  Ireland  took  up 
their  abodes  some  eighty  years  ago ;  and  there  are 
other  insulated  spots,  where  solitary  individuals  trust 
ed  to  the  savage,  and  raised  their  simple  dwellings 
before  the  war  of  the  revolution.  But  that  little 
plain,  at  our  feet,  could  have  fed,  and  clothed,  and 


ASSOCIATION  OF  AN  AMERICAN  SCENE.  251 

harboured  all  who  were  then  scattered,  not  only 
over  the  parts  of  the  country  I  have  shown  you  here, 
but,"  sweeping  his  hand  along  the  map,  across  states 
and  territories  larger  than  those  governed  by  most  of 
the  European  monarchs,  "all  of  white  colour,  who 
then  inhabited  these  wide  regions  too.  I  remember 
this  country,  Sir,  as  it  existed  in  my  childhood  ;  and 
it  is  vain  to  say,  it  is  a  land  without  recollections 
Draw  a  line  from  this  spot,  north  and  south,  and  all 
of  civilization  that  you  shall  see  for  a  thousand  miles 
west,  is  what  man  has  done  since  my  infancy.  You 
exclude,  by  this  boundary,  far  more  than  you  gain  in 
the  meagre  exceptions.  That  view  before  you  is 
but  a  fac-simile  of  a  thousand  others.  I  know  not 
what  honest  pleasure  is  to  be  found  in  recollection, 
that  cannot  be  excited  by  a  knowledge  of  these  facts. 
These  are  retrospects  of  the  past,  which,  brief  and 
familiar  as  they  are,  lead  the  mind  insensibly  to 
cheerful  anticipations,  which  may  penetrate  into  a 
futurity  as  dim  and  as  fanciful  as  any  fictions  the 
warmest  imaginations  can  conceive  of  the  past.  But 
the  speculator  on  moral  things  can  enjoy  a  satisfaction 
here,  that  he  who  wanders  over  the  plains  of  Greece 
will  seek  in  vain.  The  pleasure  of  the  latter,  if  he 
be  wise  and  good,  is  unavoidably  tinged  with  melan 
choly  regrets ;  while  here  all  that  reason  allows  may 
be  hoped  for  in  behalf  of  man.  Every  one  in  medi 
ocrity  of  circumstances  has  enjoyed  some  of  that 
interest  which  is  attendant  on  the  advancement  of 
those  objects  on  which  he  has  fastened  a  portion  of 
his  affections.  It  may  be  the  moral  or  physical  im 
provement  of  his  child, — the  embellishment  of  a  gar 
den,  a  paddock,  a  park,  or  of  the  conveniences  of 
some  town ;  but,  depend  on  it,  there  is  no  pleasure 
connected  with  any  interest  of  this  character,  that  is 
commensurate  with  that  we  enjoy,  who  hav»  seen 
the  birth,  infancy,  and  youth,  and  who  are  now 
about  to  become  spectators  of  the  maturity  of  a 


252  A  PROSPECT   FOR  THE   FUTURE. 

whole  country.  We  live  in  the  excitement  of  a  rapid 
and  constantly  progressive  condit  on.  The  impetus 
of  society  is  imparted  to  all  its  me  mbers,  and  we  ad 
vance  because  we  are  not  accustc  med  to  stand  still. 
Even  the  sagacious  and  enterprising  New-England- 
rnan,  gets  an  additional  impulse  in  such  a  living  cur 
rent  ;  the  descendant  of  the  Hollander  is  fast  losing 
his  phlegm  ;  and  men  of  all  nations,  hereditary  habits 
and  opinions,  receive  an  onward  impulse  by  the 
constant  influence  .of  such  a  communion.  I  have 
stood  upon  this  identical  hill,  and  seen  nine  tenths  of 
its  smiling  prospect  darkened  by  the  shadows  of  the 
forest.  You  observe  what  it  is  to-day.  He  wrho  comes 
a  century  hence,  may  hear  the  din  of  a  city  rising 
from  that  very  plain,  or  find  his  faculties  confused 
by  the  number  and  complexity  of  its  works  of  art.11 

Cadwallader  ceased,  and  we  re-entered  the  car 
riage  in  silence.  He  had  spoken  with  his  customary 
warmth  and  decision,  but  I  felt  that  he  had  spoken 
the  truth.  I  began  to  look  around  me  with  new  eyes, 
and  instead  of  seeking  subjects  of  exulting  comparison 
between  what  I  saw  here  and  what  I  had  left  behind 
me,  I  found  new  subjects  of  admiration  and  of  won 
der  at  every  turn.  You  may  be  assured  I  was  not 
so  ignorant  as  to  forget  that  the  first  step  in  all  im 
provements  is  more  imposing-  than  the  subsequent ; 
that  to  clear  a  country  of  its.  wood  is  in  itself  a  greater 
visible  change,  than  to  supply  the  place  of  the  latter 
with  the  more  finished  accompaniments  of  civiliza 
tion  ;  but  the  progress  of  which  I  was  a  witness, 
bounded  itself  b)&> no  such  vulgar  deception. 

Shortly  after  this  detention,  we  entered  the  village 
of  Cherry- Valley,  which  was  the  spot  named  by  my 
friend  as  the  place  originally  occupied  by  the  Irish 
emigrants.  It  is  a  village  of  perhaps  a  hundred  dwell 
ings,  seated  on  a  little  plain,  and  is  remarkable  for 
nothing,  amid  its  numberless,  neat,  spacious,  and  con 
venient  sisters.  This  place,  now  rather  east  of  the 


rOOPERSTOWN — RATE  OF  POPULATION.     253 

centre  of  the  State,  was,  during  the  war  of  the  revo 
lution,  the  frontier  settlement  in  this  part  of  the 
United  States.  At  present,  two  thirds  of  the  State 
of  New- York,  and  the  whole  of  the  large  States  of 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  lie  nearly  in  a  line  due 
west.  It  was  ravaged  and  burnt  by  an  incursion  of 
the  British  and  Indians  from  Canada,  during  the  war, 
and  many  a  dreary  tale  is  told  of  the  bloody  incidents 
of  that  day.  I  was  shown  a  dwelling  (a  modern  one) 
on  whose  site  a  whole  family  had  been  cut  off,  with 
the  exception  of  a  lad,  then  a  boy  at  some  distant 
school.  This  boy,  nearly  if  not  the  sole  survivor  of 
his  race,  afterwards  became  one  of  the  most  distin 
guished  advocates  of  America.  He  is  recently  dead, 
and  is  spoken  of  universally  in  terms  of  admiration 
and  esteem.* 

Our  route  now  lay,  for  many  miles,  amid  moun 
tains.  The  scenery  was  always  striking — sometimes 
wild  and  peculiar,  at  others  as  soft  and  lovely  as  val 
leys,  streams,  and  quiet,  could  make  it.  We  passed 
the  night  at  Cooperstown,  the  shire  or  county  town 
of  Otsego.  As  we  were  now  completely  off  all  the 
great  routes  west,  and  in  a  part  of  the  country  that 
had  been  settled  about  forty  years,  I  profited  by  the 
opportunity  to  make  a  few  statistical  inquiries,  that 
may  serve  to  give  a  tolerably  accurate  general  idea 
of  this  portion  of  the  country. 

The  county  of  Otsego  covers,  as  near  as  I  could 
ascertain,  less  than  a  thousand  square  miles.  Its 
population  in  1826  was  47,000  souls.  By  allowing 
for  the  increase  of  numbers  since,  the  proportion  will 
give  rather  more  than  fifty  inhabitants  to  the  square 
mile.  Cooperstown  is  the  largest  place  in  the  county, 
containing  less  than  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  and 
consequently  this  is  the  rate  of  the  agricultural  and 
manufacturing  population  of  an  entirely  inland,  and 


The  late  John  Wells,  of  New-York. 

z 


254  DESCRIPTIONS   IN 

rather  secluded,  portion  of  the  State.  The  village  is 
neat,  better  built  even  than  is  common  in  America, 
which  is  vastly  better  (for  villages)  than  any  thing  of 
the  sort  in  Europe.  It  lies  on  one  of  the  smallest  of 
those  lakes  with  which  New- York  abounds. 

There  resided  formerly  near  this  village  a  gentle 
man  who  is  the  reputed  author*  of  a  series  of  tales, 
which  were  intended  to  elucidate  the  history,  man 
ners,  usages,  and  scenery,  of  his  native  country.  As 
curiosity  on  American  subjects  has  led  to  their  re- 
publication  in  Europe,  you  may  possibly  have  seen 
the  books.  One  of  them  (the  "  Pioneers'1)  is  said  to 
contain  some  pretty  faithful  sketches  of  certain  habits, 
and  even  of  some  individuals  who  were  known  among 
the  earlier  settlers  of  this  very  spot.  I  cannot  pledge 
myself  for  the  accuracy  of  this  opinion,  nor  could  any 
one  be  found  here  who  appeared  to  possess  sufficient 
information  on  the  subject  to  confirm  it.  But,  so  far 
as  natural  objects  are  concerned,  the  descriptions  are 
sufficiently  exact,  and  will  fortunately  save  me  the 
trouble  of  repetition.  My  present  object,  however, 
in  referring  to  the  book,  is  to  lead  you  to  a  peculiarity 
that,  I  think,  distinguishes  not  only  this  precise  spot, 
but  most  others,  within  the  limits  of  what  is  called 
the  "new  countries."!  YOM  will  find  the  stumps, 
wild-looking  and  dead  trees,  with  other  evidences  of 
a  recent  origin,  frequently  alluded  to  in  the  descrip 
tions  of  the  Pioneers.  There  is  certainly  some  dif 
ference  in  the  duration  "of  these  relics  of  the  forest, 
according  to  the  durable  qualities  of  the  original 
growth  of  timber.  Still,  more  or  less  of  these  rude 

*  The  Americans,  like  the  English,  rarely  put  their  names  t« 
any  light  vorks. 

t  The  Americans  call  all  that  portion  of  their  territory  which 
has  been  settled  since  the  revolution  "new."  If  the  State  has 
been  created  since  that  period,  it  is  a  "new  State  ;"  but  Otsego, 
and  indeed  all  of  New-York,  is  already  getting,  by  comparison, 
to  be  "old," 


MODL  OF   CLEARING   LANb.  255 

and  ungainly  accompaniments  are  still  to  be  found 
in  two  thirds  of  the  landscapes  of  these  regions.  The 
stumps  of  the  deciduous  trees  disappear  in  a  few  sea 
sons  ;  but  where  there  have  been  many  of  a  peren 
nial  growth,  a  century  will  scarcely  serve  to  destroy 
them. 

You    will   recollect,    that   those    descriptions   of 
girdled  trees,  of  which  we  read  in  Europe,  as  forming 
a  part  of  American  scenery,  are  rather  exceptions, 
than  characteristic.     It   is  a   manner  of  improving 
certainly  much  practised  at  the  south,  and  sometimes 
in  the  more  northern  States  ;  but  it  is  far  from  being 
either  the  best,  or  the  ordinary  mode  of  clearing  land, 
in  any  great  section  of  the  country.     The  tree  is 
commonly  felled  by  cutting  it  at  such  a  distance  fron> 
the  earth,  as  may  be  most  convenient  to  the  statun 
of  the  chopper.    The  trunk  is  then  divided  into  suit 
able  lengths,  and  the  branches  are  severed,  and  col 
lected.     With  the  exceptions  of  such  trees  as   an 
selected  for  lumber,  the  whole  are  piled  in  heaps  ot 
sufficient  size  to  insure  their  consumption  by  fire. 
The  latter  process  is  called  logging.     The  brand  i& 
next  applied,  and  the  whole  field  is  subjected  to  u 
temporary,  but  fierce  action  of  the  element.    Nothing 
can  be  more  dreary  arid  savage  in  aspect,  than  at 
extensive  plain,  or  a  valley,  which  has  thus  been  com 
pletely  blackened  by  fire.     They  are  frequent  in  th« 
newer  districts,  but  comparatively  rare  in  those  ol 
ten  or  fifteen  years'  establishment. 

The  admixture  of  civilization  with  these  wild 
looking  memorials  of  a  state  of  nature,  is,  indeed,  the. 
chief  distinctive  feature  between  a  landscape  in  the 
newer  districts  of  America,  and  one  in  our  own  Eu 
rope.  There  are  certainly  other  points  of  difference, 
but  I  should  describe  this  as  the  principal  and  most 
striking.  One  can  soon  become  accustomed  to  the 
universal  use  of  fences ;  to  even  what  appears  to  be 


256          FRESH  APPEARANCE  OF  THE   COUNTRY. 

a  prodigal  waste  of  wood  in  their  construction  ;*  nd 
to  that  air  of  newness  and  freshness  which  is  so  vf,ry 
striking,  in  the  villages,  farm-houses,  out-buildings, 
and,  indeed,  every  thing  artificial  one  sees.  But  time 
and  reflection  are  necessary  to  understand  the  situa 
tion  of  a  country,  in  which  academies,  churches, 
towns,  and,  in  short,  most  things  which  an  advanced 
state  of  civilization  can  produce,  are  blended  with 
objects  that  commonly  mark  an  infant  state  of  society. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  comprehending  the  growth 
of  Petersburg,  or  of  Odessa,  for  one  sees  the  hand 
of  the  autocrat  in  their  works;  but  in  America, 
all  beyond  that  which  nature  has  done,  is  the  spon 
taneous  work  of  the  population.  There  are  certainly 
vast  tracts  of  country  where  these  coarser  evidences 
of  infancy  have  already  disappeared;  but  they  are 
still  to  be  found  in  many  others,  even  in  the  com 
paratively  old  establishments  of  the  western  parts 
of  New-York  and  Pennsylvania. 

*  The  American  fences  vary  according  to  the  quarter  of  the 
country  in  which  they  are  situated.  They  are  often  well  built, 
and  even  handsome,  low  walls  of  stone.  The  writer  saw  not 
only  farms,  but  large  districts,  subdivided  into  fields  of  from  five 
to  fifty  acres  in  this  manner.  Next  to  these,  are  fences,  of  which 
the  basements  are  made  of  stone,  and  the  summits  of  rails.  Posts 
and  rails  come  next,  and  are  found  every  where  in  the  second 
stage  of  improvement.  A  fence  that  is  called  a  "  worm  fence," 
from  its  being  composed  of  rails  with  the  ends  alternately  laid 
on  each  other,  in  the  form  of  a  screen,  is  much  in  use,  especially 
where  the  abundance  of  timber  renders  labour  a  greater  object 
than  wood.  The  first,  and  certainly  the  most  natural,  if  not 
the  most  durable,  division  of  the  land,  is  by  what  is  called  the 
"  log-fence."  This  is  formed  by  laying  the  trunks  of  trees  in  a 
line,  with  their  ends  doubling  for  a  couple  of  feet.  Notches  are 
cut  in  the  ends  of  these  logs,  and  billets  of  wood  are  laid  in  them 
to  connect  the  ends.  The  upper  sides  of  the  billets  are  also 
notched,  and  they  serve  for  the  foundations  of  new  tiers.  Three 
logs  piled  in  this  manner  make  an  efficient  fence.  The  duration 
is,  of  course,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  tree.  Perhaps  ten 
years  may  be  fixed  for  the  average.  Hedges  are  very  rare. 
Fences  are  sometimes  made  of  stumps,  extracted  by  the  roots 
from  the  earth. 


\      257     ^ 

TO  B1R  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 

&c.  &c. 


New-York, 

THE  day  after  we  had  quitted  Cooperstown,  we 
saw  a  collection  of  people  assembled  in  front  of  an 
inn,  which  was  the  principal  edifice  in  a  hamlet  of 
perhaps  a  dozen  houses.  Cadwallader  told  me  this 
was  the  first  day  of  the  State  election,  and  that  this 
spot  was  one  of  the  polls,  a  name  which  answers  in 
some  degree  to  the  English  term,  "hustings."  Fortu 
nately,  the  stage  changed  horses  at  the  inn,  and  I  had 
an  opportunity  of  examining  the  incipient  step  in 
that  process  which  literally  dictates  all  the  national 
policy  of  this  great  republic. 

Although  each  State  controls  its  own  forms,  not 
only  in  the  elections,  but  in  every  thing  else,  a  de 
scription  of  the  usages  of  one  poll  will  be  sufficiently 
near  the  truth  to  give  a  correct  general  idea  of  them 
all.  I  now  speak  literally  only  of  the  State  of  New- 
York,  though,  generally,  of  the  whole  Union.  The 
elections  occur  once  a  year.*  They  last  three  days. 
In  the  large  towns,  they  are  stationary,  there  being 
no  inconvenience  in  such  an  arrangement  where  the 
population  is  dense,  and  the  distances  short.  But  in 
the  country  they  are  held  on  each  successive  day  at 
a  different  place,  in  order  to  accommodate  the  voters. 
The  State  is  divided  into  counties,  which  cover,  on 
an  average,  900  square  miles  each.  Some  are,  how 

*  There  is  one  State  where  they  occur  twice — the  little  State 
of  Rhode  Island,  which  is  still  governed  by  the  form  of  its  an 
cient  charter,  as  granted  by  Charles  II.  in  1663.  As  this  is  prac 
tically  the  most  democratic  State  in  the  Union,  it  affords  pretty 
good  evidence  that  the  experiment  of  a  democratic  government 
is  not  so  new  in  America  as  some  pretend. 
Z  2 


258  MANNER   OF   ELECTIONS. 

ever,  larger,  and  some  smaller.  These  counties  are 
again  subdivided  into  townships,  covering,  perhaps, 
eighty  or  ninety  square  miles.  There  is,  also,  great 
inequality  in  the  size  of  these  minor  districts.  These 
are  the  two  great  divisions  of  territory  for  all  the 
ordinary  purposes  of  government  and  police.  The 
counties  have  courts  of  their  own,  and  a  certain 
sort  of  legislative  body,  which  regulates  many  of 
their  financial  affairs.  In  order  that  the  whole  sub 
ject,  however,  may  be  rendered  as  clear  as  possible, 
we  will  begin  at  the  base,  and  ascend  to  the  super 
structure  of  their  government. 

The  most  democratic  assemblage  known  to  the 
laws,  in  which  legal  and  binding  resolutions  can  be 
enacted,  are  the  town  meetings.  Any  number  of  the 
people  may  assemble  when  and  where  they  please, 
to  remonstrate,  to  petition,  or  even  to  plot,  if  they 
see  fit ;  but  their  acts  can  only  be  recommendatory. 
The  town  meetings  are  held  annually,  and  every  citi 
zen  who  has  attained  his  majority  can  vote.  A  mode 
rator  (no  bad  name  for  a  perfectly  popular  assembly) 
is  chosen  by  acclamation  to  preside.  The  meeting 
is  commonly  held  in  some  school-house,  but  very  often 
in  the  open  air.  In  some  places,  though  rarely, 
there  are  town-houses.  At  these  meetings,  all  the 
town  officers  are  chosen.  They  consist  of  a  super 
visor  ;  three  assessors,  who  apportion  all  the  taxes 
on  the  individuals,  whether  imposed  by  town,  county, 
state,  or  United  States;  collectors,  who  collect  all 
the  taxes,  except  those  laid  by  the  United  States 
government,  which  in  time  of  peace,  are  just  nothing 
at  all;  a  town-clerk,  who  keeps  certain  registers; 
constable,  poor-officers,  overseers  of  highways,  path- 
masters,  and  a  few  others.  The  names  of  most  of 
these  officers  indicate  their  duties.  The  overseers 
of  the  highway  are  the  men  who  lay  out  the  ordinary 
roads  of  the  town,  and  who  say  how  much  tax  each 
individual  shall  contribute  in  work  or  in  money;  and 


PROCEEDINGS    AT    A   TOWN    MEETING.  259 

the  path-masters  inspect  the  labour.  Men  of  prop 
erty  and  education  frequently  seek  the  latter  employ, 
ment.  The  voting  in  this  popular  assembly  may  be 
by  ballot,  but  it  is  generally  done  by  acclamation. 
There  is  a  penalty  if  an  individual  refuse  to  serve, 
though  they  are  sometimes  excused  by  the  citizens, 
if  a  good  reason  can  be  rendered.  The  courts  have 
also  a  discretionary  power  in  imposing  and  in  laying 
fines.  I  was  present  during  the  course  of  this  excur 
sion  at  one  of  these  town  meetings.  There  might 
have  been  two  hundred  citizens  assembled  before  the 
door  of  a  large  school-house.  Much  good-humour 
was  blended  with  a  sufficient  despatch  of  business. 
The  Americans  mingle  with  a  perfect  consciousness 
of  their  influence  on  the  government,  an  admirable 
respect  for  the  laws  and  institutions  of  their  country. 
I  heard  jokes,  and  one  or  two  open  nominations  of 
men  of  property  and  character,  to  fill  the  humble 
offices  of  constable  and  pound-keeper;  but  the  most 
perfect  good  sense  and  practical  usefulness  appeared 
to  distinguish  all  their  decisions.  There  was  a  con 
test  for  the  office  of  supervisor,  and  it  was  decided 
by  a  close  vote.  The  two  candidates  were  present, 
and  on  seemingly  very  good  terms.  They  were  re 
spectable  looking  yeomen,  and  he  who  lost  told  his 
rival  that  he  thought  the  people  had  shown  their 
judgment.  There  was  no  noise,  no  drinking,  nor 
any  excitement  beyond  that  which  one  would  feel 
in  seeing  an  ordinary  foot-race.  One  farmer  ob 
served,  that  the  crows  had  got  the  taste  of  his 
corn,  and  unless  something  was  done,  there  could 
be  little  hope  for  the  year's  crop.  He  therefore 
would  propose  that  a  reward  of  six  cents  should  be 
paid -fo^  every  dozen  that  should  be  killed,  within 
theirjtown,  for  the  next  six  months.  The  resolution 
was  opposed  by  a  hatter,  who  insisted  that  he  could 
take  care  of  his  hats,  and  that  the  farmers  ought  to 
take  care  of  their  corn.  This  logic  was  unsuccess- 


260      BOARD    OF    SUPERVISORS,  WITH  ITS  POWER. 

ful;  the  price  was  reduced  a  trifle,  and  the  resolution 
was  passed.  It  was  then  just  as  much  a  law  as  that 
which  hangs  a  man  for  murder.  The  sum  voted  to 
meet  the  expense  was  to  be  apportioned  with  the 
other  taxes,  among  the  citizens,  by  the  assessors,  col 
lected  by  the  collector,  received  and  paid  by  another 
officer,  &c.  &c.  After  this  important  act  of  legisla 
tion,  the  meeting  adjourned. 

The  next  body  in  the  scale  of  the  government  is 
the  board  of  supervisors.  It  is  composed  of  the  su 
pervisors  of  each  town  in  a  county,  who  have  a  very 
similar  legislative  authority  over  the  more  familiar 
interests  of  the  county,  as  is  possessed  by  their  con 
stituents  in  the  towns  themselves.  They  impose 
taxes  for  all  objects  connected  with  the  expenses  of 
the  county.  Their  authority  is,  however,  a  good 
deal  circumscribed  ;  enactments  by  the  State  legisla 
ture  being  often  necessary  to  enforce  their  recom 
mendations.  When  the  question  involves  an  expense 
heavier  than  common,  and  its  effects  are  entirely 
local,  the  question  is  often  referred  to  a  final  decision 
of  the  people  in  their  town  meetings.  This  board 
audits  the  accounts,  and  I  believe  it  appoints  a  trea 
surer  for  the  county.  So  far  you  see  the  process  of 
government  is  exceedingly  simple.  The  wiiole  legis 
lative  duty  is  discharged  in  three  or  four  days,  and 
yet  the  decisions  have  great  influence  on  the  comfort 
and  property  of  the  people.  The  duties  of  the  offi 
cers  named,  continue  for  one  year,  but  the  same  in 
cumbents  are  frequently  continued  for  a  whole  life, 
especially  the  collectors,  treasurers,  constables,  and 
clerks. 

Each  town  is  also  subdivided  into  school  districts, 
and  road  districts.  There  are  overseers  of  the  schools, 
who  regulate  all  that  belongs  to  the  familiar  difties  of 
the  common  schools  of  the  country,  to  which  any 
body  may  go. 

Each  township  is  also  a  petty  electoral  district  of 


ELECTORAL    DISTRICTS.  261 

itself,  for  all  the  ordinary  purposes  of  the  State  and  the 
United  States1  elections,  which  are  held  at  the  same 
time  and  place.  The  three  stations  taken  for  the 
convenience  of  the  elections,  as  already  mentioned, 
are  selected  by  the  inspectors  of  the  poli,  who  are 
five  or  six  of  the  town  officers,  named  by  law,  and  of 
course  chosen  annually  by  the  people  in  their  original 
capacity  Each  county  chooses  its  own  representa 
tives  to  the  lower  branch  of  the  State  legislature,  the 
number  being  according  to  the  amount  of  the  popu 
lation.  The  State  is  again  divided  into  what  are 
called  senatorial  districts,  composed  of  se  /eral  con 
tiguous  counties,  each  of  which  chooses  a  certain 
number  of  representatives,  who  sit  in  the  upper  body 
of  the  State  legislature.  Each  State  has  a  right  to 
send  to  the  lower  House  of  Congress  a  number  of  re 
presentatives,  in  proportion  to  its  entire  population. 
These  representatives  must  be  chosen  by  the  people, 
but  the  States  themselves  may  regulate  the  form 
Some  choose  them  by  a  general  ticket ;  that  is  to  say 
each  citizen  votes  for  the  whole  number ;  and  some 
choose  them  by  districts,  in  which  case  each  citizen 
votes  for  the  member,  or  members,  who  represent 
his  particular  district.  The  latter  is  the  course 
adopted  by  New- York,  and  in  most  of  the  other  large 
States,  in  which  it  is  difficult  for  the  characters  of  so 
many  individuals  to  be  intimately  known  to  every 
body. 

Now,  complicated  as  this  system  may  seem  in 
words,  it  is  perfectly  simple  in  practice.  It  is  aston 
ishing  how  clearly  it  is  understood  by  those  who  ex 
ercise  it,  and  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  a  foreigner 
get  a  correct  idea  of  its  details.  All  the  elections, 
except  those  which  are  made  at  the  town  meetings, 
where  other  duties  necessarily  assemble  the  citizens, 
are  held  at  the  same  time,  and  at  the  same  place. 
Thus  an  American,  in  one  of  the  more  populous 
States,  can  exercise  all  his  constitutional  rights  at  an 


262  MANNER    OF    BALLOTING. 

expense  commonly  of  a  ride  of  four  or  five  miles  at 
the  outside,  and  of  three  hours  of  time. 

The  election  on  the  present  occasion  embraced 
senators,  (always  for  the  State,)  representatives  in 
the  assembly,*  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  &c. 
The  inspectors  were  assembled  in  a  quiet  room  of 
the  inn,  with  the  ballot-boxes  placed  before  them,  on 
a  table.  The  voters  entered  at  their  leisure,  and  de 
livered  their  different  ballots  to  the  officers,  who. 
holding  them  up  as  lottery  numbers  are  usually  ex 
hibited,  called  the  name  of  the  voter  aloud,  and  then 
deposited  the  ballot  in  its  proper  box.  "  I  challenge 
that  vote,"  cried  ap  individual,  as  the  name  of  one 
man  was  thus  proclaimed.  It  appeared  that  there 
were  doubts  of  its  legality.  An  inquiry  was  instituted, 
an  oath  proffered,  explanations  were  made,  and  the 
challenge  was  withdrawn.  The  vote  was  then  re 
ceived.  Any  one  who  votes  may  challenge.  No 
thing  could  be  more  quiet  and  orderly  than  this  meet 
ing.  A  few  handbills  were  posted  around  the  house, 
proclaiming  the  names,  and  extolling  the  qualities  of 
the  different  candidates,  and  I  heard  one  or  two  men 
disputing  the  wisdom  of  certain  public  measures, 
rather  in  irony  than  in  heat.  The  election  was  not, 
however,  esteemed  a  warm  one,  and  perhaps  quite 
one  third  of  the  people  did  not  attend  the  polls  at  all. 
Mr.  Clinton,  the  governor,  under  whose  administra 
tion  the  canal  policy,  as  it  is  called,  has  been  fostered, 
had  declined  a  re-election,  at  the  expiration  of  the 
official  term  preceding  the  one  now  in  existence. 
His  place  had  been  filled  by  another.  In  the  mean 
time,  his  political  adversaries,  profiting  by  a  momen 
tary  possession  of  a  legislative  majority,  had  ventured 


*  The  more  popular  branch  of  the  State  legislature,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  though  both  are  popular  alike.  The  difference 
if  principally  in  the  term  of  service,  and  in  some  little  exercise 
cf  power. 


MR.  CLINTON   AVKXGED    HV   TJIE    I'fiOPLE.         263 

to  assail  him  in  a  manner  the  people  were  not  dis 
posed  to  relish.  He  was  removed  from  a  seat  at  the 
;t  canal  board,"  a  measure  which  was  undoubtedly 
intended  to  separate  him,  as  far  as  possible,  from  a 
policy  that  was  already  conferring  incalculable  ad 
vantage  on  the  State.  The  instant  Cadwallader  was 
told  of  this  ill-advised  and  illiberal  measure,  he  ex 
claimed,  that  the  political  adversaries  of  this  gentle 
man  had  reseated  him  in  the  chair  of  the  government. 
When  asked  for  an  explanation,  my  friend  answered, 
that  the  people,  though  they  sometimes  visited  politi 
cal  blunders  with  great  severity,  rarely  tolerated  per 
secution.  The  event  has  justified  his  predictions. 
Although  a  popular  candidate  was  selected  to  oppose 
him,  Mr.  Clinton  has  triumphed  in  this  election  by 
an  immense  majority,  and,  in  a  few  days,  he  will 
become  governor  of  the  State  for  another  term  of  two 
years.* 

After  quitting  the  poll,  we  familiarly  discussed  the 
merits  and  demerits  of  this  system  of  popular  elec 
tions.  In  order  to  extract  the  opinions  of  my  friend, 
several  of  the  more  obvious  and  ordinary  objections 
were  started,  with  a  freedom  that  induced  him  to 
speak  with  some  seriousness. 

"  You  see  a  thousand  dangers  in  universal  suffrage," 
he  said,  "  merely  because  you  have  been  taught  to 
think  so,  without  ever  having  seen  the  experiment 
tried.  The  Austrian  would  be  very  apt  to  say,  under 
the  influence  of  mere  speculation  too,  that  it  would 
be  fatal  to  government  to  have  any  representation  at 
all ;  and  a  vizier  of  the  Grand  Turk  might  find  the 
mild  exercise  of  the  laws,  which  is  certainly  practised 
in  Austria  Proper,  altogether  fatal  to  good  order. 


*  No  voter  can  put  in  two  ballots,  since  all  are  compelled  to 
place  them  in  the  hands  of  an  inspector.  In  case  two  ballots 
are  found  rolled  together,  both  are  rejected.  Thus  fraud  is  im 
possible. 


264  UNIVERSAL  SUFFRAGE. 

Now  we  know,  not  from  the  practice  of  fifty  years 
only,  but  from  the  practice  of  two  centuries,  that  it 
is  very  possible  to  have  both  order  and  prosperity 
under  a  form  of  government  which  admits  of  the  ut 
most  extension  of  the  suffrage.  It  is  a  never-failing 
argument  on  these  subjects,  that  American  order  is 
owing  to  the  morality  of  a  simple  condition  of  life, 
and  that  our  prosperity  is  incidental  to  our  particular 
geographical  situation.  There  are  many  good  men, 
and,  in  other  respects,  wise  men,  even  among  our 
selves,  who  retain  so  much  of  the  political  theory 
which  pervades  the  literature  of  our  language,  as  to 
believe  the  same  thing.  For  myself,  I  cannot  see  the 
truth  of  either  of  these  positions.  Our  prosperity  is 
owing  to  our  intelligence,  and  our  intelligence  to  our 
institutions.  Every  discreet  man  in  America  is  deeply 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  diffusing  instruction 
among  our  people,  just  as  many  very  well-meaning 
persons  in  your  hemisphere  honestly  enough  entertain 
a  singular  horror  of  the  danger  of  school-books.  Thus 
it  is,  our  natural  means  of  safety  to  do  the  very  thing 
which  must,  of  necessity,  have  the  greatest  possible 
influence  on  the  happiness,  civilization,  and  power, 
of  a  nation. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  under  a  bald  theory, 
a  representation  would  be  all  the  better  if  the  most 
ignorant,  profligate,  and  vagabond  part  of  the  com 
munity,  were  excluded  from  the  right  of  voting.  It 
is  just  as  true,  that  if  all  the  rogues  and  corrupt  poli 
ticians,  even  including  those  who  read  Latin,  and 
have  well-lined  pockets,  could  be  refused  the  right 
of  voting,  honest  men  would  fare  all  the  better.  But 
as  it  is  very  well  known  that  the  latter  are  not,  nor 
cannot  well  be  excluded  from  the  right  of  suffrage 
any  where,  except  in  a  despotism,  we  have  come  to 
the  conclusion,  that  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  do 
so  much  violence  to  natural  justice,  without  sufficient 
reason,  as  to  disfranchise  a  man  merely  because  he 


NATURAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  GOVERNMENT.          265 

is  poor.  Though  a  trifling  qualification  of  property 
m«ty  sometimes  be  useful,  in  particular  conditions  of 
society,  there  can  be  no  greater  fallacy  than  its  re 
presentation.  The  most  vehement  declaimers  in  fa 
vour  of  the  justice  of  the  representation  of  property, 
overlook  two  or  three  very  important  points  of  the 
argument  A  man  may  be  a  voluntary  associate  in 
a  joint-stock  company,  and  justly  have  a  right  to  a 
participation  in  its  management,  in  proportion  to  his 
pecuniary  interest ;  but  life  is  not  a  chartered  insti 
tution.  Men  are  born  with  all  their  wants  and  pas 
sions,  their  means  of  enjoyment,  and  their  sources  of 
misery,  without  any  agency  of  their  own,  and  fre 
quently  to  their  great  discomfort  Now,  though  gov 
ernment  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  a  sort  of  compact,  it 
would  seem  that  those  who  prescribe  its  conditions 
tire  under  a  natural  obligation  to  consult  the  rights 
of  the  whole.  If  men,  when  a  little  better  than  com 
mon,  were  any  thing  like  perfect,  we  might  hope  to 
see  power  lodged  with  safety  in  the  hands  of  a  rea 
sonable  portion  of  the  enlightened,  without  any  dan 
ger  of  its  abuse.  But  the  experience  of  the  world 
goes  to  prove,  that  there  is  a  tendency  to  monopoly, 
wherever  power  is  reposed  in  the  hands  of  a  minor 
ity.  Nothing  is  more  likely  to  be  true,  than  that 
twenty  wise  men  will  unite  in  opinion  in  opposition 
to  a  hundred  fools ;  but  nothing  is  more  certain  than 
that,  if  placed  in  situations  to  control  all  the  interests 
of  their  less  gifted  neighbours,  the  chance  is,  that 
fifteen  or  sixteen  of  them  would  pervert  their  phi 
losophy  to  selfishness.  This  was  at  least  our  political 
creed,  and  we  therefore  admitted  a  vast  majority  of 
the  community  to  a  right  of  voting.  Since  the  hour  of 
the  revolution,  the  habits,  opinions,  laws,  and  I  may 
say  principles  of  the  Americans,  are  getting  daily  to 
be  more  democratic.  We  are  perfectly  aware,  that 
while  the  votes  of  a  few  thousand  scattered  individu 
als  can  make  no  great  or  lasting  impression  on  the 
Aa 


266  EFFECTS  OF  AN  EXTENDED  SUFFRAGE. 

prosperity  or  policy  of  the  country,  their  disaffection 
at  being  excluded  might  give  a  great  deal  of  trouble, 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  suffrage  may  not,  in 
most  countries,  be  extended  too  far.  I  only  wish  to 
show  you  that  it  is  not  here. 

"  The  theory  of  representation  of  property  says, 
that  the  man  who  has  little  shall  not  dispose  of  the 
money  of  him  who  has  more.*  Now,  what  say  ex 
perience  and  common  sense  ?  It  is  the  man  who 
has  much  that  is  prodigal  of  the  public  purse.  A  sum 
that  is  trifling  in  his  account,  may  constitute  the  sub 
stance  of  one  who  is  poorer.  Beyond  all  doubt,  the 
government  of  the  world,  which  is  most  reckless  of 
the  public  money,  is  that  in  which  power  is  the  ex 
clusive  property  of  the  very  rich ;  and,  beyond  all 
doubt,  the  government  of  the  world  which,  compared 
with  its  means,  is  infinitely  the  most  sparing  of  its 
resources,  is  that  in  which  they  who  enact  the  laws 
are  compelled  to  consult  the  wishes  of  those  who 
have  the  least  to  bestow.  It  is  idle  to  say  that  an 
enlarged  and  liberal  policy  governs  the  measures  of 
the  one,  and  that  the  other  is  renowned  for  a  narrow 
ness  which  has  lessened  its  influence  and  circum 
scribed  its'  prosperity.  I  know  not,  nor  care  not, 
what  men,  who  are  dazzled  with  the  glitter  of  things, 
may  choose  to  say,  but  I  am  thoroughly  convinced, 
from  observation,  that  if  the  advice  of  those  who 
were  influenced  by  what  is  called  a  liberal  policy, 
had  been  followed  in  our  country,  we  should  have 
been  a  poorer  and,  consequently,  a  less  important 
and  less  happy  people  than  at  present.  The  relations 
between  political  liberality,  and  what  is  called  politi 
cal  prodigality,  are  wonderfully  intimate. 

"  We  find  that  our  government  is  cheaper,  and 

*  When  the  numbers  of  those  who  have  nothing,  get  to  be  so 
great  as  to  make  their  voices  of  importance,  it  is  time  to  think 
of  some  serious  change. 


CAUSES  OF  AMERICAN  ECONOMY.       267 

even  stronger,  for  being  popular.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  jealousy  of  those  who  have  little,  often  in 
duces  a  false  economy,  and  that  money  might  fre 
quently  be  saved  by  bidding  higher  for  talent.  We 
lay  no  claims  to  perfection,  but  we  do  say,  that  more 
good  is  attained  in  this  manner  than  in  any  other 
which  is  practised  elsewhere.  We  look  at  the  ag 
gregate  of  advantage,  and  neither  our  calculations 
nor  our  hopes  have,  as  yet,  been  greatly  deceived. 

"  As  to  the  forms  of  our  elections,  you  see  that 
they  are  beyond  example  simple  and  orderly.  After 
an  experience  of  near  forty  years,  I  can  say  that  I 
have  never  seen  a  blow  struck,  nor  any  other  violent 
proceeding,  at  a  poll.  These  things  certainly  do  hap 
pen,  but,  in  comparison  with  the  opportunities,  at 
remarkably  long  intervals.  So  far  from  the  frequency 
of  elections  tending  to  disturb  society,  they  produce 
an  exactly  different  effect.  A  contest  which  is  so 
soon  to  be  repeated  loses  half  its  interest  by  famili 
arity.  Vast  numbers  of  electors  are  content  to  be 
lookers-on,  rarely  approaching  a  poll,  except  to  vote 
on  some  question  of  peculiar  concern.  The  struggle 
is  generally  whether  A  or  B  shall  enjoy  the  temporary 
honour  or  the  trifling  emolument  in  dispute,  the  com 
munity  seldom  being  much  the  better  or  the  worse 
for  the  choice.  People  talk  of  the  fluctuations  which 
are  necessarily  the  consequences  of  a  popular  gov 
ernment.  They  do  not  understand  what  they  say, 
Every  other  enlightened  nation  of  the  earth  is  at  this 
moment  divided  between  great  opposing  principles ; 
whereas  here,  if  we  except  the  trifling  collisions  of 
pecuniary  interests,  every  body  is  of  the  same  mind, 
except  as  to  the  ordinarily  immaterial  question  of  a 
choice  between  men.  We  have  settled  all  the  formi 
dable  points  of  policy,  by  conceding  every  thing  that 
any  reasonable  man  can  ask.  The  only  danger  which 
exists  to  the  duration  of  our  confederacy  (and  that  is 
not  a  question  of  a  form  of  government,  but  one  of 


268  EXTENDED  CORRUPTION  IMPOSSIBLE. 

mere  policy),  proceeds  from  the  little  that  is  aristo- 
cratical  in  our  Union.  The  concentrated  power  of 
a  State  may  become,  like  the  overgrown  power  of  an 
individual,  dangerous  to  our  harmony;  though  we 
think,  and  with  very  good  reason,  that,  on  the  whole, 
even  this  peculiarity  adds  to  the  durability  of  the 
Union. 

"  It  is  unnecessary  to  say,  that  so  far  as  mere  conve 
nience  goes,  this  method  of  election  can  be  practised 
by  a  hundred  millions  of  people,  as  easily  as  by 
twelve.  As  to  corruption,  comparatively  speaking, 
it  cannot  exist.  No  man  can  buy  a  state,  a  county, 
or  even  a  town.  In  a  hotly  contested  election,  it  is 
certainly  sometimes  practicable  to  influence  votes 
enough  to  turn  the  scale  ;  but,  unless  the  question  in 
volve  the  peculiar  interests  of  the  less  fortunate  class 
of  society,  it  is  clear  both  parties  can  bribe  alike,  and 
then  the  evil  corrects  itself.  If  the  question  be  one 
likely  to  unite  the  interests  and  the  prejudices  of  the 
humbler  classes,  nine  times  in  ten  it  is  both  more 
humane  and  wiser  that  they  should  prevail.  That 
sort  of  splendid  and  treacherous  policy,  which  gives 
a  fallacious  lustre  to  a  nation  by  oppressing  those 
who  have  the  most  need  of  support,  is  manifestly  as 
unwise  as  it  is  unjust.  It  violates  the  very  principles 
of  the  compact,  since  governments  are  not  formed  to 
achieve,  but  to  protect.  After  a  sufficient  force  has 
been  obtained  to  effect  the  first  great  objects  of  the 
association,  the  governed,  and  not  the  governors,  are 
the  true  agents  in  every  act  of  national  prosperity, 
Look  at  America.  What  people,  or  what  monarch, 
if  you  will,  has  done  half  so  much  as  we  have  done, 
(compared  to  our  means,)  in  the  last  half  century, 
and  precisely  for  the  reason  that  the  government  is 
obliged  to  content  itself  with  protection,  or,  at  (.he 
most,  with  that  assistance  which,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  strictly  requires  a  concentrated  action. 

"  It  is  of  far  less  importance,  according  to  our  no- 


THE  AMERICANS   ARE  REFORMERS.  269 

tions,  what  the  executive  of  a  nation  is  called,  than 
that  all  classes  should  have  a  direct  influence  on  its 
policy.  We  have  no  king,  it  is  true,  for  the  word 
carries  with  it,  to  our  ears,  an  idea  of  expenditure ; 
but  we  have  a  head,  who,  for  the  time  being,  has  a 
very  reasonable  portion  of  power.  We  are  not  jeal 
ous  of  him,  for  we  have  taken  good  care  he  shall  do 
no  harm. 

"  Though  we  are  glad  to  find  that  principles  which 
we  have  practised,  and  under  which  we  have  pros 
pered  so  long,  are  coming  more  in  fashion  in  Europe, 
I  think  you  must  do  us  the  justice  to  say,  that  we  are 
not  a  nation  much  addicted  to  the  desire  of  prose 
lyting.  For  ourselves  we  have  no  fears,  and  as  for 
other  people,  if  they  make  some  faint  imitations  of 
our  system,  and  then  felicitate  themselves  on  their 
progress,  we  are  well  content  they  should  have  all 
the  merit  of  inventors.  That  is  a  miserable  rivalry, 
which  would  make  a  monopoly  of  happiness.  I  think, 
as  a  people,  we  rather  admire  you  most  wrhen  we  see 
you  advancing  with  moderation  to  your  object,  than 
when  we  hear  of  the  adoption  of  sudden  and  violent 
means.  We  have  ever  been  reformers  rather  than 
revolutionists.  Our  own  struggle  for  independence 
was  not  in  its  aspect  a  revolution.  We  contrived  to 
give  it  all  the  dignity  of  a  war,  from  the  first  blow. 
Although  our  generals  and  soldiers  might  not  have 
been  so  well  trained  as  those  they  fought  against,  they 
were  far  more  humane,  considerate,  and,  in  the  end, 
successful,  than  their  adversaries.  Our  own  progress 
has  been  gradual.  It  is  not  long  since  a  trifling  re 
striction  existed  on  the  suffrage  of  this  very  State. 
Experience  proved  that  it  excluded  quite  as  many 
discreet  men  as  its  removal  would  admit  of  vaga 
bonds.  Now  it  is  the  distinguishing  feature  of  our 
policy,  that  we  consider  man  a  reasonable  being,  and 
that  we  rather  court,  than  avoid,  the  struggle  be 
tween  ignorance  and  intelligence.  We  find  that  this 
Aa2 


270  THE  AMERICANS  INVITE  CHANGE. 

policy  rarely  fails  to  assure  the  victory  of  the  latter, 
while  it  keeps  down  its  baneful  monopolies.  We 
extended  the  suffrage  to  include  every  body,  and 
while  complaint  is  removed,  we  find  no  difference  in 
the  representation.  As  yet,  it  is  rather  an  improve 
ment.  Should  it  become  an  evil,  however,  we  shall 
find  easy  and  moderate  means  to  change  it,  since  we 
are  certain  that  a  majority  will  be  sufficiently  saga 
cious  to  know  their  own  interests.  You  have  only 
to  convince  us  that  it  is  the  best  government,  and  we 
will  become  an  absolute  monarchy  to-morrow.  It  is 
wonderful  how  prone  we  are  to  adopt  that  which 
expectation  induces  us  to  think  will  be  expedient, 
and  to  reject  that  which  experience  teaches  us  is  bad. 
It  must  be  confessed  that,  so  far,  all  our  experiments 
have  been  in  favour  of  democracy.  I  very  well 
know  that  you  in  Europe  prophesy  that  our  career 
will  end  in  monarchy.  To  be  candid,  your  prophe 
cies  excite  but  little  feeling  here,  since  we  have  taken 
up  the  opinion  you  don't  very  well  understand  the 
subject.  But  should  it  prove  true,  a  la  bonne  heure  ; 
when  we  find  that  form  of  government  best,  depend 
on  it,  we  shall  not  hesitate  to  adopt  it.  You  are  at 
perfect  liberty,  if  you  will,  to  establish  a  journal  in 
jfavour  of  despotism  under  the  windows  of  the  Capi 
tol.  I  will  not  promise  you  much  patronage  at  first, 
neither  do  I  think  you  will  be  troubled  with  much 
serious  opposition.  At  all  events,  there  is  nothing  in 
the  law  to  molest  the  speculation.  Now  look  behind 
you  at  the  "poll"  we  have  just  left;  reflect  on  this 
fact,  and  then  draw  your  conclusions,  of  our  own 
opinion,  of  the  stability  of  our  institutions.  We  may 
deceive  ourselves,  but  you  of  Europe  must  exhibit  a 
far  more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  state  of  our. 
country,  before  we  shall  rely  on  your  crude  prognos 
tics  rather  than  on  our  own  experience." 

I  could  scarcely  assure  myself  that  Cadwallader 
was  not  laughing  at  me  during  a  good  deal  of  the  time 


OBSTINACY  OF  THE  AMERICANS.  271 

he  was  speaking,  but  after  all,  it  must  be  confessed 
there  is  some  common  sense  in  what  he  said.  There 
were  three  or  four  other  passengers  in  the  stage,  men 
of  decent  and  sober  exterior,  among  whom  I  detected 
certain  interchanges  of  queer  glances,  though  none 
of  them  appeared  to  think  the  subject  of  any  very 
engrossing  interest  Provoked  at  their  unreasonable 
indifference  to  a  theme  so  delightful  as  liberty,  I  asked 
one  of  them  "  If  he  did  not  apprehend  there  would 
be  an  end  to  the  republic,  should  General  Jackson 
become  the  next  President  / "  "  I  rather  think  not," 
was  his  deliberate,  and  somewhat  laconic  answer. 
"  Why  not?  he  is  a  soldier,  and  a  man  of  ambition." 
My  unmoved  yeoman  did  not  care  to  dispute  either 
of  these  qualities,  but  he  still  persevered  in  thinking 
there  was  not  much  danger,  since  "  he  did  not  know 
any  one  in  his  neighbourhood  who  was  much  disposed 
to  help  a  man  in  such  an  undertaking." 

It  is  provoking  to  find  a  whole  nation  dwelling  in 
this  species  of  alarming  security,  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  their  vulgar  and  e very-day  practices  teach 
them  to  rely  on  themselves,  instead  of  trusting  to  the 
rational  inferences  of  philanthropic  theorists,  who 
have  so  long  been  racking  their  ingenuity  to  demon 
strate  that  a  condition  of  society  which  has  delusively 
endured  for  nearly  two  hundred  years,  has  been  in 
existence  all  that  time  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
legitimate  deductions  of  the  science  of  government. 


(     272     ) 
TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 


Philadelphia, . 

SINCE  my  last  letter,  I  have  visited  New- Jersey, 
the  eastern  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware. 
With  the  exception  of  Maine,  Illinois,  and  Indiana, 
(quite  new  States,)  I  have  now  seen  something  of  all 
those  communities,  which,  in  common  parlance,  are 
called  the  "  free  States,"  in  contradistinction  to  those 
which  still  encourage  the  existence  of  domestic 
slavery.  As  respects  this  material  point  of  policy, 
the  confederation  is  nearly  equally  divided  in  the 
number  of  States,  thirteen  having  virtually  gotten  rkl 
of  slavery,  and  eleven  still  adhering  to  the  system. 
The  difference  between  the  white  population,  how 
ever,  is  vastly  more  in  favour  of  the  "  free  States." 
We  shall  not  be  far  out  of  the  way,  in  stating  the 
whole  of  the  white  population  of  the  United  States 
at  a  little  more  than  ten  millions.  Of  this  number, 
near,  if  not  quite,  seven  millions  are  contained  in  the 
thirteen  northern,  middle,  and  north-western  States. 

This  portion  of  the  Union  is  governed  by  the  same 
policy,  and  its  inhabitants  seek  their  prosperity  in  the 
same  sources  of  wealth  and  in  the  same  spirit  of  im 
provement.  More  than  half  of  them  are  either  natives 
of  New-England,  or  are  descended  from  those  who 
were  born  in  that  district  of  the  country.  Together, 
the  States  I  have  named  cover  a  surface  of  little  less 
than  300,000  square  miles.  If  the  territory  of  Michi 
gan  be  included,  (which  is  not  yet  sufficiently  popu 
lous  to  be  a  State,)  the  amount  will  be  swelled  to 
near  330,000.  The  former  will  give  rather  more 
than  twenty-three  to  the  square  mile,  as  the  rate  of 
the  whole  population  on  the  whole  surface.  But  in 


POPULATION  FAVOURABLE  TO  LIBERTY.          273 

making  the  estimate,  what  I  have  already  said  of  the 
vast  regions  that  are  not  peopled  at  all,  must  be  kept 
in  view.  Perhaps  one  third  of  the  territory  should 
be  excluded  from  the  calculation  altogether.  This 
would  leave  something  more  than  thirty  to  the  square 
mile,  for  the  average.  But  even  this  estimate  is  neces 
sarily  delusive,  as  it  is  known  that  in  the  old  States 
there  are  sixty  and  seventy  souls  to  the  square  mile, 
and  in  some  parts  of  them  many  more. 

In  the  course  of  reflection  on  this  subject,  I  have 
been  led  to  inquire  when  these  republics  are  to  reach 
that  ratio  of  population  which,  of  necessity,  is  to 
compel  them  to  adapt  their  institutions  to  the  usages 
of  European  policy.  The  result  is  not  quite  so  con 
clusive  as  one  might  at  first  be  disposed  to  believe.  J 
find  that  despotism  flourishes  with  little  or  no  oppo 
sition  in  Russia,  a  country  of  about  twenty-five  to  the 
square  mile;  in  Turkey,  one  of  about  fifty;*  in  Spain, 
one  of,  say  sixty;  in  Denmark,  one  of  about  eighty, 
&c.  &c. ;  and  that  liberty  is  beginning  to  thrive,  or 
has  long  thriven,  in  England,  one  of  more  than  two 
hundred ,  in  the  Netherlands,  one  of  an  equal  rate ; 
and,  in  short,  in  France,  in  several  of  the  most  popu 
lous  states  of  Germany,  some  of  which  mount  as 
high  as  six  and  nine  hundred  to  the  square  mile,  more 
particularly  the  free  towns  ! 

Here  is  pretty  clear  evidence,  by  that  unanswer 
able  argument — fact,  that  the  popuiousness  of  a 
country  is  not  necessarily  to  control  the  freedom  or 
despotism  of  its  institutions.  But  the  United  States 
have  carried  the  freedom  of  their  institutions  too  far, 
since  they  go  much  farther  than  we  have  ever  found 
it  wise  or  safe  to  go  in  Europe.  England  herself  has 
stopped  short  of  such  excessive  freedom.  The  latter 
position  is  certainly  much  nearer  to  the  truth  than 
the  other,  and  yet  if  we  should  assemble  even  the 

*  Both  in  Europe. 


274  AN  ARGUMENT   IN   THE  CLUB. 

travelled  brethren  of  our  own  club,  and  put  the  ques« 
tion  to  them — "How  far  do  you  think  that  liberty 
and  equality  of  political  rights  can  be  carried  in  a 
government,  without  danger  to  its  foundations  ?" — it 
would  be  seen  that  the  replies  would  smack  a  little 
of  the  early  impressions  of  the  different  worthies  who 
compose  the  fraternity.  Let  us  fancy  ourselves  for  a 
moment  in  solemn  conclave  on  this  knotty  point, 
and  we  will  endeavour  to  anticipate  the  different 
answers.  We  will  begin  with  the  Prince  Andre 
Kutmynoseandeyesoff. 

"  I  am  of  opinion,"  says  our  accomplished,  intelli 
gent,  and  loyal  prince,  "  that  without  a  vast  standing 
army,  a  nation  can  neither  secure  its  frontiers,  nor 
on  occasion  bring  them  properly  within  a  ring  fence. 
In  what  manner  is  a  serf  to  be  made  to  respect  his 
lord,  unless  he  see  that  the  latter  can  enforce  his 
rights  by  having  recourse  to  the  bayonet,  or  in  what 
manner  is  even  rank  among  ourselves  to  be  regulated, 
without  a  common  centre  whence  it  must  flow  ?  It 
would  be  utterly  impossible  to  keep  an  empire  com 
posed  of  subjects  born  in  the  arctic  circle  and  sub 
jects  born  on  the  Caspian,  men  speaking  different 
languages,  and  worshipping  Jesus  and  Mahomet,  to 
gether,  without  such  a  concentration  of  power  as 
shall  place  each  in  salutary  fear  of  the  ruler.  It  is 
quite  clear  that  a  nation  without  a  vast  standing 
army " 

"  I  beg  pardon  for  the  interruption,  mon  Prince,1' 
cries  Professor  Jansen :  "  I  agree  with  you  in  toto, 
except  as  to  the  army.  Certainly  no  spectacle  is 
more  beautiful  than  that  of  a  kind  and  benevolent 
monarch,  dwelling  in  the  midst  of  his  people  like  a 
father  in  the  bosom  of  a  vast  family,  and  at  once  the 
source  of  order  and  the  fountain  of  honour.  Still  I 
can  see  no  great  use  in  an  overgrown  army,  which 
infallibly  leads  to  a  waste  of  money  and  a  mispend- 
ing  of  time.  Soldiers  are  unquestionably  necessary 


DIFFERENCE    ITS    OPINIONS.  275 

to  prevent  invasion  or  aggression,  and  to  be  in  readi 
ness  to  look  down  any  sudden  attempts  at  revolution ; 
but  they  are  dangerous  and  extravagant  playthings. 
When  a  sovereign  begins  to  stir  his  battalions  as  he 
does  his  chess-men,  one  can  never  calculate  what 
move  he  means  to  make  next ;  and  as  to  rank,  what 
can  be  more  venerable  or  more  noble  than  the  class 
of  Counts,  for  instance — ["  Hear,  hear,"  from  Sir 
Edward  Waller] — a  set  of  nobles  who  hold  so  happy 
and  so  respected  an  intermediate  station  between  the 
prince  and  his  people  ?  That  is  clearly  the  happiest 
government  in  the  whole  world,  where  the  labour  of 
•uling  is  devolved  on  one  man :  but  I  shall  always 
protest  against  the  wisdom  of  a  large  standing  army." 

"  Quant  a  moi,"  observes  the  colonel,  making  an 
apologetic  bow,  "  I  cannot  agree  with  either  the  one 
or  the  other.  An  army  before  all  things,  but  no  des 
pot  ;  and,  least  of  all,  a  despot  who  does  nothing  but 
stay  at  home  and  vegetate  on  his  throne.  If  I  must 
have  an  absolute  monarch,  King  Stork  any  day  to 
King  Log,  In  my  youth,  I  will  confess,  certain 
visions  of  glory  floated  before  my  eyes,  and  conquest 
appeared  the  best  good  of  life ;  but  time  and  hard 
service  have  weakened  these  impressions,  and  I  can 
now  plainly  perceive  all  the  advantages  of  La  Charte. 
In  a  constitutional  monarchy,  one  can  enjoy  the  ad 
vantages  of  a  despotism  without  any  of  its  disadvan 
tages.  You  have  an  army  to  vindicate  the  national 
honour,  as  ready,  as  brave,  and  as  efficient,  as  though 
the  power  of  its  head  were  unlimited ;  and  yet  you 
have  not  the  constant  danger  of  lettres  de  cachet,  bas- 
tiles,  and  monks.  By  a  judicious  division  of  estates, 
those  odious  monopolies,  which  have  so  fatal  a  ten 
dency  to  aristocracy " 

"  If  you  stop  there,  dear  Jules,"  interrupts  a  cer 
tain  Sir  Edward  Waller,  "  we  shall  be  in  the  ma 
jority,  and  the  question  is  our  own.  Nothing  can  be 
more  dangerous  than  a  despotism,  every  one  must 


276  SHADES    IN    REASONING. 

allow "  (though  two  worthy  members  had  just  held 
the  contrary  doctrine.)  "  But  you  are  touching  on 
the  very  thing  now,  that  must  unavoidably  prove  fatal 
to  your  monarchy,  la  charte,  and  all,  since  it  is  clear, 
that  a  monarch  needs  the  support  of  an  aristocracy, 
and  an  aristocracy  is  nothing  without  money. — An 
enlightened,  unpaid,  disinterested  gentry,  who  pos 
sess  all  the  property " 

'  Money !'  echoes  the  colonel,  in  heat ;  "  it  is  that 
money  which  is  the  curse  of  you  English.  You  have 
it  all,  and  yet  you  see  you  are  hourly  in  terror  of 
bankruptcy.  Thank  God,  if  the  Revolution  has  done 
nothing  else,  it  has  cut  up  root  and  branch  all  our 
odious  seignories,  with  their  feudal  follies  ;  and  man- 
now  begins  to  think  himself  the  owner  of  the  soil,  and 
not  a  plant" 

"  Nay,  my  dear  Bethizy,  keep  your  temper ;  you 
are  not  now  storming  the  bridge  of  Lodi.  Reflect 
one  moment ;  what  will  become  of  France  when  her 
whole  territory  shall  be  subdivided  in  freeholds  not 
bigger  than  a  pocket-handkerchief?" 

"  And  your  island !  what  will  the  poor  devils  of 

paupers  do  when  Lord shall  own  the  whole 

island?" 

"  I  think,"  observes  the  abbate,  perceiving  that  the 
argument  is  likely  to  wax  hot,  "  that  it  is  a  question 
that  will  admit  of  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides, 
whether  a  people  will  leave  more  lasting  and  brilliant 
recollections,  if  their  career  has  been  run  under  a  re 
publican  or  a  monarchical  form  of  government.  In 
Italy,  we  find  arguments  to  maintain  both  positions ; 
though  at  present  we  are  somewhat  divided  between 
a  hierarchy  and  such  minute  geographical  divisions 
as  shall  insure  a  close  inspection  into  the  interests  of 
all  who  have  any  right  at  all  to  be  consulted  in  these 
matters.  I  can  neither  agree  with  the  prince,  nor 
vrith  the  professor,  nor  with  the  Count,  nor  yet  with 
Sir  Edward,  though  I  think  all  of  us  must  be  of 


A    REPLY.  277 

opinion  that  a  popular  government  is  a  thing  quite 
impracticable." 

"  Oh  !  all,  all,  all,  all." 

"  It  is  quite  certain  that  your  Lazzaroni  would 
scarcely  know  what  to  do  with  political  power  if 
they  had  it,"  continues  the  abbate. 

"  Nor  a  serf,"  says  the  Prince. 

"  I  can  see  no  use  in  giving  it  even  to  a  Count," 
mutters  the  Dane. 

"  Nor  to  a  Manchester  reformer,"  puts  in  Sir 
Edward, 

"  It  is  quite  certain  the  canaille  do  not  know  how 
to  use  it,"  adds  Jules  Bethizy,  with  a  melancholy 
sigh  ;  and  so  the  question  is  disposed  of. 

Now,  if  my  friend  Cadwallader  were  a  member  of 
the  club  (and  I  hope  to  live  long  enough  to  see  the 
day  when  he  shall  become  one,)  he  might  give  a  very 
different  opinion  from  them  all.  Let  us  imagine,  for 
an  instant,  what  would  be  the  nature  of  his  argument. 
He  would  probably  say,  that,  "  my  countrymen  have 
taken  care  there  shall  be  neither  Lazzaroni,  nor  serf, 
(he  might  gag  a  little  at  the  thought  of  the  blacks,)* 
nor  Counts,  nor  Manchester  reformers;  and  any 
opinions  which  may  be  formed  on  premises  of  this 
nature  are,  in  consequence,  utterly  inapplicable  to  us. 
I  dare  say  the  abbate  will  very  willingly  admit,  that 
if  there  were  nothing  but  cardinals  in  Italy,  a  popular 
government  would  do  very  well ;  and  perhaps  Sir 
Edward  will  allow  if  the  English  population  were  all 
baronets  of  seven  thousand  a  year,  the  elective  fran 
chise  might  be  extended  even  in  his  kingdom  without 
any  very  imminent  danger.  It  is  wonderful  how  very 
difficult  it  is  to  make  men  comprehend  that  a  thing 


*  It  is  manifestly  unsafe  to  found  any  arguments  concerning 
the  political  institutions  of  this  country  on  the  existence  of 
slavery,  since  the  slaves  have  no  more  to  do  with  government  than 
inanimate  objects. 

Bb 


278  A    REPLY. 

can  be  done  by  any  one  else,  which  they  have  long 
been  used  to  consider  as  exceeding  their  own  ability 
to  perform.  This  feeling  of  selfishness,  or  of  vanity, 
whichever  you  please,  insinuates  itself  into  all  our 
actions,  and  finally  warps  our  opinions,  and  obscures 
our  judgments. 

"  I  do  not  believe  it  is  in  the  power  of  man  to 
make  a  Turk  comprehend  the  nature  of  English 
liberty ;  simply  because,  when  he  looks  around  him- 
and  sees  the  state  of  society  in  which  he  himself  vege 
tates,  he  can  neither  understand  the  energy  of  char 
acter  which  requires  such  latitude  for  its  exertion, 
nor  the  state  of  things  which  can  possibly  render  it 
safe.  It  appears  to  me,  that  it  is  very  nearly  as  diffi 
cult  to  make  an  Englishman  comprehend  that  it  is 
very  possible  for  a  people  to  prosper  under  a  degree  of 
liberty  still  greater  than  that  he  enjoys.  His  self-love, 
his  prejudices,  and  his  habits  are  all  opposed  to  the 
admission.  Experience  and  fact  go  for  nothing.  He 
is  determined  there  shall  be  some  drawback  to  all 
the  seeming  prosperity  of  a  state  of  things  which  ex 
ceeds  his  own  notions  of  the  sources  whence  pros 
perity  ought  to  flow ;  and  though  he  may  not  be  suf 
ficiently  conversant  with  the  details  to  lay  his  finger 
on  the  sore  spot,  he  is  quite  confident  there  must  be 
one.  He  swears  it  is  festering,  and  that  by-and-bye 
we  shall  hear  something  of  it  worth  knowing.  I  re 
member  once  to  have  conversed  with  a  renowned 
English  statesman  on  this  very  subject.  He  was  suf 
ficiently  complimentary  on  the  institutions  of  my 
country,  and  on  the  character  of  my  countrymen,  but 
we  were  neither  of  us  the  dupes  of  such  simple 
courtesy.  I  believe  he  did  me  the  justice  to  see  that 
I  understood  him,  for  he  very  soon  took  occasion  to 
remark  that  he  should  like  the  government  of  the 
United  States  better  if  it  were  a  '  Frank  Republic.'' 
Perceiving  that  I  looked  surprised,  and  possibly  un 
derstanding  the  expression  of  my  countenance  to  say 


THE    OPINION    OF    A    STATESMAN.  279 

how  much  I  wondered  that  a  man  of  his  experience 
should  expect  great  frankness  in  any  government,  he 
went  on  to  explain  ;  4 1  mean,'  he  continued,  '  that  I 
should  like  your  government  better,  if  there  were  no 
pageant  of  a  head,  and  if  Congress  would  act  for  itself 
directly,  without  the  intervention  of  a  President.' 

This  conversation  occurred  shortly  after  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  had  rejected  a  treaty  with  Great 
Britain,  which  the  President  had  made  (through  the 
public  minister),  and  which  the  King  of  Great  Britain 
had  previously  ratified.  ^Hinc  illcs  lachrymal  Icon- 
fined  my  answer  to  a  simple  observation,  that  the 
actual  power  of  the  President  was  very  little,  but 
that  we  should  unnecessarily  impede  the  execution 
of  the  laws,  and  embarrass  our  intercourse  with  for 
eign  nations,  by  abolishing  the  office,  which  added 
greatly  to  the  convenience  of  the  country,  without  in 
the  slightest  degree  invading  or  endangering  the  lib 
erties  of  the  people. 

Now,  what  was  the  amount  of  the  argument  which 
this  gifted  man  agitated  in  his  own  mind,  on  a  subject 
so  important  to  the  policy  of  a  great  nation  ?  He  could 
understand  that  a  right  might  exist  somewhere  to 
annul  the  bargain  of  a  minister,  for  in  his  proper 
person  he  had  just  before  refused  to  ratify  a  treaty 
made  by  one  of  his  own  agents,*  but  he  could  not 
understand  that  this  power  should,  or  could,  with 
propriety,  be  lodged  in  hands  where  he  was  not  ac 
customed  to  see  it.  Napoleon  would  have  told  him 
that  he  himself  submitted  to  a  thousand  vain  and  re 
strictive  regulations,  which  only  tended  to  embarrass 
his  operations  and  to  lessen  his  influence  abroad. 

Again,  it  is  quite  common  for  the  American  to 
gather  in  discourse  with  Englishmen,  either  by  inu- 
endoes,  or  direct  assertions,  that  there  is  little  or  no 
religion  in  his  country !  Nine  times  in  ten,  the  former 

*  With  Mexico. 


280  A    FALSE    IDEA. 

is  content  to  laugh  in  his  sleeve  at  what  he  terms  the 
egregious  ignorance  of  his  relative ;  or  perhaps  he 
makes  a  circle  of  friends  merry  by  enumerating  this 
instance,  among  fifty  others,  of  the  jaundiced  views 
that  the  folks  on  the  homestead  take  of  the  condition 
of  those  who  have  wandered  beyond  the  paternal 
estate.  But  should  he  be  tempted  to  probe  the  feel 
ing  (I  will  not  call  it  reason)  which  induces  so  many 
warm-hearted,  and  kindly  intentioned  individuals  in 
the  mother  country,  to  entertain  a  notion  so  unjust, 
not  to  say  so  uncharitable,  of  their  fellow-Christians, 
under  another  rtgime,  he  will  find  that  it  is  in  truth 
bottomed  on  no  other  foundation  than  the  circum 
stance  that  we  have  no  established  church.  And  yet 
it  is  a  known  fact  that  the  peculiar  faith  of  England, 
is  in  America  on  the  comparative  increase,  and  that 
in  England  itself,  it  is  on  a  comparative  decrease,  one 
half  of  the  whole  population  being  at  this  moment, 
if  I  am  rightly  informed,  dissenters  from  the  very 
church  they  think  so  necessary  to  religion,  morals, 
and  order.  In  America,  we  think  the  change  in  the 
latter  country  is  owing  to  the  establishment  itself; 
and  the  change  in  our  own,  to  the  fact  that  men  are 
always  willing  to  acknowledge  the  merits  of  any  thing 
which  is  not  too  violently  obtruded  on  their  notice. 
We  may  be  wrong,  and  so  may  they ;  but  if  the  fact 
were  only  half  as  well  authenticated  as  is  the  one 
that  we  are  competent  to  maintain  our  present  politi 
cal  institutions,  I  should  consider  it  a  question  not 
worth  the  trouble  of  discussion." 

That  Cadwallader  would  use  some  such  manner 
of  reply  I  know,  for  the  anecdote  of  his  conversation 
with  the  English  statesman  (now  unhappily  no  more) 
I  have  actually  heard  him  mention.  I  confess  the 
justice  of  many  of  his  remarks,  for  I  am  perfectly 
conscious  of  having  been  the  subject  of  a  great  many 
of  these  vague  and  general  conjectures  on  American 
policy ;  but  a  closer  observation  of  the  actual  state 


PREJUDICE.  281 

of  the  country  is  gradually  forcing  me  to  different 
conclusions.  The  more  candid  European  will  admit 
that  a  vast  number  of  our  usages  and  institutions  owe 
their  existence,  at  the  present  hour,  to  prejudice. 
Now,  is  it  not  possible  that  prejudice  may  have  quite 
as  active  an  agency  in  keeping  down  aristocracy,  as 
in  keeping  it  up  ?  It  is  perfectly  absurd  to  say,  that 
it  is  an  ordering  of  nature ;  for  nature,  so  far  from 
decreeing  that  the  inequality  of  her  gifts  is  to  be  per 
petuated  in  a  direct  male  line,  and  in  conformity  to 
the  rights  of  primogeniture,  is  commonly  content  with 
visiting  a  single  family  with  her  smiles,  at  long  inter 
vals,  and  with  a  very  unequal  bounty.  So  far  as 
nature  is  concerned,  then,  she  is  diametrically  opposed 
to  the  perpetuation  of  power  or  consideration  in  the 
regular  descent.  Neither  talents,  nor  physical  force, 
nor  courage,  nor  beauty,  is  often  continued  long  in 
any  one  race.  But  men  do  get,  and  do  keep  too,  the 
control  of  things  in  their  own  families,  in  most  of  the 
countries  of  the  earth.  This  is  a  practical  argument, 
which  it  will  be  found  difficult  to  controvert.  It  is 
precisely  for  this  reason  that  I  begin  to  think  the 
people  of  the  United  States  will  not  soon  part  with 
the  power  of  which  they  are  at  present  in  such  abso 
lute  possession.  But  knowledge  you  will  say  is  power, 
and  knowledge  is  confined  to  the  few.  I  am  inclined 
to  think,  after  all,  that  the  degree  of  knowledge  which 
is  necessary  to  make  a  man  obstinate  in  the  defence 
of  rights  which  he  has  been  educated  to  believe  in 
herent,  is  far  from  being  very  profound.  It  is  well 
known  that  despots  have  often  failed  in  attempts  on 
the  personal  privileges  of  their  subjects.  Paul  could 
send  a  prince  to  Siberia,  but  he  could  not  make  a 
Boyar  shave.  Now,  the  rights  of  suffrage,  of  perfect 
political  equality,  of  freedom  in  religion,  and  of  all 
other  political  privileges,  are  the  beards  of  these 
people.  It  will  be  excessively  hazardous  to  attempt 
to  shorten  them  by  a  hair.  The  ornaments  of  the 
Bb  2 


282  PERPETUITY  OF  THE  INSTITUTIONS. 

chin  are  not  more  effectually  a  gift  of  nature,  than 
are  the  political  privileges  of  the  American  his  birth' 
right.  Great  as  is  the  power  of  the  English  aristoc 
racy,  there  are  limits  to  its  exercise,  as  you  very  well 
know,  and  any  man  can  predict  a  revolution,  should 
they  attempt  to  exceed  them.  I  fancy  the  only  dif 
ference  between  the  mother  and  child  in  this  particu 
lar  is,  that  the  latter,  so  far  as  political  rights  go,  has 
rather  a  richer  inheritance  than  the  former.  Time 
has  clearly  little  to  do  with  the  matter  beyond  the 
date  of  our  individual  existence,  since  a  human  life 
is  quite  long  enough  to  get  thoroughly  obstinate  opin 
ions  on  any  subject,  even  though  prejudice  should  be 
their  basis. 

From  this  familiar  and  obvious  manner  of  reason 
ing  (and  I  think  it  will  be  found  to  contain  a  fair  pro 
portion  of  the  truth)  it  would  seem  to  result  that 
there  is  quite  as  little  likelihood  the  American  will 
lose  any  of  his  extreme  liberty,  as  that  the  Dutch 
man,  the  Frenchman,  or  the  Englishman,  will  lose 
any  great  portion  of  that  which  he  now  enjoys. 
The  question  is  then  narrowed  to  the  use  the  former 
will  make  of  his  power. 

The  past  speaks  for  itself,  and  in  language  suffi 
ciently  plain  for  any  man  to  comprehend,  who  is  not 
obstinately  bent  on  refusing  credit  to  institutions  to 
which  he  is  unaccustomed.  The  future  is  necessarily, 
in  some  degree,  matter  of  conjecture ;  but  in  order  to 
anticipate  it  with  an  approach  to  accuracy,  we  will 
continue  our  investigation  of  facts. 

You  are  already  master  of  my  opinions  on  the 
general  character  of  the  inhabitants  of  New-England. 
If  I  add  the  results  of  the  observations  made  in  the 
recent  tour,  you  will  possess  the  remarks  I  have 
made  on  more  than  half  of  the  whole  population  of 
the  country,  and  this  too  without  excluding  the  slaves 
from  the  calculation. 

The  great  national  characteristics  throughout  this 


COMMON  SCHOOLS.  283 

whole  people,  are,  with  few  and  limited  exceptions, 
every  where  essentially  the  same.  But  shades  of 
difference  do  assuredly  exist,  which  may  serve  rather 
to  modify  the  several  states  of  society,  than  to  effect 
any  material  change.  I  think  the  principal  distinc 
tions  emanate  from  slavery,  and  from  the  greater  or 
less  support  that  is  given  to  the  common  schools. 
The  Americans  themselves  rightly  esteem  knowledge 
as  the  palladium  of  their  liberty,  no  less  than  the 
mighty  agent  of  their  comparative  importance ;  and 
wherever  a  sound  and  wholesome  policy  prevails, 
the  utmost  attention  is  paid  to  the  means  of  its  diffu 
sion.  You  should  constantly  remember,  however, 
that  each  State  has  the  entire  control  of  all  these 
subjects  in  its  own  hands.  Consequently,  although 
the  mighty  truth  is  universally  admitted,  very  different 
means  have  been  resorted  to,  in  order  to  promote  its 
advancement. 

The  policy  of  New- York  and  Ohio  differs  but  little 
from  that  of  New-England  in  this  particular.  Un 
happily  that  of  Pennsylvania  is  less  enlightened.  In 
the  former  State  during  the  current  year  (1824), 
when  the  population  is  rather  under  1 ,600,000,  there 
are  7,642  common  schools;  402,940  scholars  have 
been  taught  in  these  schools  for  an  average  of  nine 
months.  These  are  in  addition  to  all  the  private 
schools,  which  are  numerous,  especially  in  the  towns; 
and  which  include  all  that  push  education  beyond 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  and  a  little  grammar  and 
geography.* 

From  these  numbers,  which  are  taken  from  offi 
cial  reports,  you  gain  two  important  facts  ;  the  extent 
of  the  common  education,  and  the  number  of  the 
children  compared  to  that  of  the  adults.  During  the 


*  In  1825,  there  were  7773  common  schools,  and  425,530 
scholars,  exclusive  of  those  who  attended  656  schools,  from 
which  no  returns  were  made  in  time  to  be  included. 


284  STATISTICS  OF  NEW-YORK. 

same  year  (1824)  there  were  11,553  marriages, 
61,383  births,  and  22,544  deaths,  or  nearly  three 
births  to  one  death.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
this  State  contains  more  populous  towns  than  any 
other,  and  that  the  deaths  in  the  city  of  New-York 
alone,  from  the  wandering  character  of  so  great  a 
portion  of  its  population,  must  necessarily  exceed 
the  regular  proportion  of  nature. 

While  on  this  subject,  it  may  be  well  to  advert  to 
a  few  other  facts,  of  which  I  propose  to  make  some 
use,  when  further  observation  shall  entitle  me  to 
comment  on  the  present  condition  and  future  fortunes 
of  the  slaves.  In  1 790,  the  whole  population  of  the 
State  of  New- York  was  340,120.  Of  this  number 
25,975  were  blacks,  chiefly  slaves.  In  1800  there 
were  586,050  persons,  of  whom  30,988  were  blacks, 
chiefly  slaves.  In  1810,  959,049  persons,  and  40,350 
blacks,  of  whom,  perhaps,  nearly  half  were  free.  In 
1820  the  population  was  1,372,812,  of  whom  only 
39,367  were.blacks ;  viz.,  10,088  slaves,  and  29,279 
free  people  of  colour.  In  1825  the  population  was 
1,616,458,  of  whom  39,999  were  blacks,  all  free,  or, 
what  was  the  same  thing,  all  to  be  free  on  the  4th  of 
July,  1827,  and  by  far  the  most  of  them  were  free  at 
the  time  the  census  was  actually  taken. 

It  will  be  well  to  recollect  that  the  State  of 
New- York,  so  far  from  being  a  place  avoided  by 
the  blacks,  is  rather  one  they  seek.  The  scarcity 
of  domestics,  and  the  large  proportion  of  families 
who  keep  servants,  induce  thousands  of  free  people 
of  colour  to  resort  there  for  employment.  A  great 
many  are  also  hired  as  the  labourers  on  board  of 
vessels.  Still  they  do  not  increase,  amid  the  vast 
increase  of  the  whites.  A  trifling  migration  to  Hayti 
may  have  affected  the  returns  a  little,  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  migration  into  the  State  exceeds  that 
from  it.  One  must  remember  how  few  marriages 
take  place  among  these  people ;  their  moral  condition, 


DECREASE  OF  THE  FREE  BLACKS.       286 

their  vagrant  habits,  their  exposure,  their  dirt,  and  all 
the  accumulated  misfortunes  of  their  race.* 

I  think  it  is  quite  fair  to  infer,  from  these  state 
ments,  that  freedom  is  not  favourable  to  the  con 
tinuation  of  the  blacks  while  society  exists  under  the 
influence  of  its  present  prejudices.  The  general 
returns  of  the  number  of  the  free  blacks  in  the  whole 
of  the  United  States,  certainly  show  that  they  are  on 
the  increase ;  but  this  fact  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
constant  manumissions,  and  not  to  any  natural  cause. 
In  Massachusetts,  there  have-  been  no  slaves  since  the 
declaration  of  independence.  It  has,  of  course,  been 
a  favourite  residence  of  the  blacks,  some  of  whom 
have  risen  to  respectable  situations  in  life.  Among 
them,  there  have  been  traders,  ship-masters,  and  even 
ship-owners  ;  and  yet  they  have  scarcely  increased  in 
number,  during  the  last  thirty  years.  In  1790,  there 
were  5,463  blacks  in  that  State ;  and  in  1820,  there 
were  6,740.  During  the  same  time  the  whole  popula 
tion  has  advanced  from  378,787  to  523,287. t  A  vast 
emigration  to  the  new  States  has  kept  down  the 
population  of  Massachusetts.  Thus,  you  see,  that 
while  the  whites  have  increased  in  thirty  years 
more  than  thirty-eight  per  cent.,  the  blacks  have  not 
reached  the  rate  of  twenty-four  per  cent.,  and  this, 
too,  under  as  favourable  circumstances,  as  they  are 
probably  fated  to  enjoy,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  in 
these  republics.  But  Massachusetts  was  alone  for 
many  years,  in  the  protection  and  favour  she  extended 

*  At  the  census  of  1825,  there  were  in  the  State  of  New- York 
1,513,421  neat  cattle  ;  349,628  horses;  3,496,539  sheep;  1,467,573 
hogs  ;  2,269  grist-mills,  chiefly  by  water;  5,195  saw-mills,  almost 
all  by  water;  1,222  fulling-mills;  1,584  carding-mills;  76  cotton, 
and  189  woollen  manufactories  of  cloth  for  sale.  There  were 
645  deaf  and^  dumb,  1,421  idiots,  and  819  lunatics.  It  should, 
however,  be  remembered,  that  unfortunate  subjects  of  these 
maladies,  are  frequently  sent  from  other  States  to  the  benevolent 
nstitutions  of  this. 

t  Census  of  1820. 


286  DECREASE  OF  THE  FREE  BLACKS. 

to  this  unfortunate  race.  The  rate  of  their  increase 
was  vastly  greater,  before  the  manumission  laws 
went  into  force  in  the  adjoining  States,  than  now. 
Thus,  between  1790  and  1800,  they  increased  one 
hundred  and  eighty  per  cent,  a  rate  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  whites  during  the  same  period  (a 
consequence  of  the  influx  of  the  former,  and  of  the 
emigration  of  the  latter).  Between  1800  and  1810 
their  increase  was  forty-four  per  cent,  and  between 
1810  and  1820  only  five  per  cent ;  there  being  only 
three  more  blacks  in  1820  than  in  1810,  while  the 
whites,  notwithstanding  emigration,  had  augmented 
51,116. 

Now  it  is  quite  certain  that,  in  a  country  subject 
to  so  many  changes  as  this,  and  where  man  is  so 
very  active,  all  statistical  calculations  are  liable  to 
the  influences  of  minute  and  familiar  causes,  which 
are  very  likely  to  escape  the  detection  of  a  stranger. 
When  Cadwallader  first  directed  my  attention  to  the 
foregoing  reports,  I  was  about  to  jump  to  the  instant 
conclusion,  that  the  free  blacks  did  not  propagate 
their  species  at  all,  and  that,  as  the  gross  increase  of 
their  numbers  in  the  country  was  owing  to  manumis 
sions,  nothing  remained  but  to  give  them  all  their 
freedom,  in  order  to  render  the  race  extinct  But 
my  companion,  like  most  of  his  countrymen,  is  a 
calculator  too  wary  and  too  ingenious  to  fall  into  so 
gross  an  error. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  free  blacks,  like  the 
aborigines,  gradually  disappear  before  the  superior 
moral  and  physical  influence  of  the  whites,  but  the 
rate  of  their  decrease  is  not  to  be  calculated  by  that 
in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  nor  even  by  that  of 
the  native  possessors  of  the  soil.  A  black  man,  unlike 
an  Indian,  can  be  easily  civilized  ;  and  perhaps  there 
are  no  peasants  in  the  world  who  require  a  greater 
indulgence  of  their  personal  comforts  than  the  people 
of  colour  in  the  northern  and  middle  States  of  this 


HABITS  OF  THE  TREE  BLACKS.  287 

Union.  In  this  respect  they  are  like  the  menials  of 
most  other  nations,  having  acquired  from  their  mas 
ters  a  reflected  taste  for  luxury.  But  it  is  well  known 
that  cold  is  not  congenial  to  the  physical  tempera 
ment  of  a  black.*  The  free  blacks  are  found  hover 
ing  as  near  as  possible  to  the  slave  States,  because 
the  climate  of  the  south  is  what  they  crave.  Thus, 
in  Pennsylvania  they  increase,  while  in  New-York 
they  decrease.  Some  portion  of  this  effect  is  no 
doubt  produced  by  the  more  extensive  commerce  of 
the  latter  (which  works  up  a  great  number  of  blacks 
as  sailors),  and  by  the  peculiar  policy  of  the  Quakers, 
as  well  as  of  the  descendants  of  the  Germans,  in  the 
former  State,  both  of  whom  display  singular  care  of 


*  All  experience  proves,  that  ages  and  generations  must 
elapse  before  the  descendants  of  the  African  can  acquire  habits 
of  endurance  which  shall  enable  him  effectually  to  resist  frost, 
if,  indeed,  it  can  ever  be  done.  Indeed,  while  the  negro  is  often 
powerful  of  frame,  and  generally  supple  and  active,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  he  can  endure  extreme  fatigue  of  any  sort, 
as  well  as  a  white  man  ;  at  least,  as  well  as  the  hardy  and  vigor 
ous  whites  of  this  country.  A  thousand  instances  might  be 
adduced  to  prove  this  position ;  but  two  must  suffice.  A  few 
years  since,  an  American  whaler  was  struck  by  a  whale  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  vessel  instantly  bilged.  The  crew  was 
compelled  to  traverse  half  of  that  vast  ocean  in  their  boats,  sub 
ject  to  the  utmost  privation,  and  sustaining  the  most  horrible 
sufferings.  But  few  survived  to  reach  the  land.  The  blacks, 
of  whom  there  were  a  fair  proportion,  died,  being  the  first  to 
sink  under  their  abstinence  and  labour. — A  few  years  since,  a 
small  vessel  ran  into  a  bay  on  Long  Island,  during  a  severe 
snow-storm,  at  a  time  that  Cadwallader  was  near  the  spot.  She 
was  soon  surrounded  by  a  thin  ice,  and  as  her  crew  had  no  fire, 
nor  boat,  they  were  reduced  to  the  utmost  distress.  A  signal 
was  made  to  that  effect.  A  young  gentleman  proceeded  to  the 
rescue  of  the  unfortunate  mariners,  seconded  by  two  servants, 
one  of  whom  was  white,  and  the  other  black.  The  latter  was  a 
farm  labourer  of  great  strength  and  activity.  The  ice  was  to  be 
broken  near  a  mile,  in  the  face  of  a  cutting  wind,  and  while  the 
thermometer  (Fahrenheit)  stood  several  degrees  below  Zero. 
The  crew  were  rescued,  but  the  black  was  near  dying,  and 
had  to  be  landed  before  half  the  toil  was  completed,  and  a  white 
man  was  taken  in  his  place. 


*  * 


288  AMERICAN  EXAGGERATION. 

their  black  dependants.  But,  on  the  whole,  I  think 
it  must  be  assumed  as  a  fact  for  our  future  reasoning, 
that  the  free  blacks  rather  decrease  than  otherwise 
(always  excepting  the  effects  of  manumission) ;  and 
it  is  well  known,  that  the  whole  white  population 
grows  rather  faster  than  the  whole  black. 

Before  closing  these  remarks  I  will  add,  that  the 
whites,  with  the  exception  of  certain  districts  in  the 
southern  states,  attain  a  greater  degree  of  longevity 
than  the  blacks,  and  that  it  is  known  that  the  slaves 
have  more  children  than  the  free  people  of  colour. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  there  are  some  immaterial 
errors  in  the  reports,  from  which  the  number  of  chil 
dren  in  the  common  schools  of  New- York  have  been 
taken,  since  the  State  bestows  its  bounty  in  propor 
tion  to  the  wants  of  the  district ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  must  be  remembered,  that  the  amounts  are 
gathered  by  public  and  qualified  officers,  and  that 
each  school  district  is  obliged  to  tax  itself  for  just  as 
much  money  as  it  receives,  in  order  to  raise  the  sum 
necessary  to  defray  the  current  expenses  of  common 
education,  so  that,  on  the  whole,  it  is  probable  there 
is  no  great  exaggeration ;  nor  is  a  traveller,  who  has 
witnessed  the  immense  number  of  white-headed  and 
chubby  little  urchins  he  sees  all  over  the  country,  at 
all  disposed  to  suspect  it. 

We  of  Europe,  when  we  listen  to  the  wonders  of 
these  regions,  in  the  way  of  increase  and  prosperity, 
are  a  little  addicted  to  suspect  the  native  narrators 
of  the  prodigies  of  a  love  of  the  marvellous.  I  once 
ventured  to  ask  Cadwallader  his  opinion  on  this  deli 
cate  point.  His  answer  was  sufficiently  to  the  point, 
and  you  shall  have  it,  without  the  smallest  qualifica 
tion  : — 

"  That  the  Europeans,"  he  said,  "  will  not  believe 
facts,  which  have  a  daily  existence  before  our  eyes, 
proves  nothing  but  their  ignorance.  In  my  own  opin 
ion,  and  this  is  but  a  matter  of  opinion,  there  is  less 


EUROPEAN  IGNORANCE.  289 

falsehood  uttered  in  the  United  States  (if  you  exclude 
the  slaves)  than  in  any  other  Christian  country,  though 
Heaven  knows  there  is  quite  enough.  In  saying  false 
hood,  I  mean  untruths,  whether  intentional  or  not. 
A  certain  degree  of  gross  credulity  is  absolutely  ne 
cessary,  that  one  very  numerous  class  of  vulgar  false 
hoods  should  flourish  any  where.  Our  European 
kinsmen,  who  are  quite  as  enlightened  as  any  other 
people  of  your  hemisphere,  are  far  from  being  ex 
empt  from  the  foible  of  excessive  credulity.  The 
tales  one  hears  on  the  top  of  a  stage-coach  would 
scarcely  do  in  an  American  vehicle ;  for  the  shrewd, 
practical,  quick-witted,  and  restless  people  of  this 
country,  would  be  ashamed  to  believe,  and  conse 
quently  ashamed  to  tell,  half  the  extraordinary  feats 
of  such  or  such  a  subject  of  notoriety,  merely  be 
cause  they  have  been  accustomed  to  think  under- 
standingly  of  what  a  man  can  do  in  almost  every 
situation  in  which  he  is  ordinarily  placed.  No 
where  is  a  lie  so  soon  and  so  thoroughly  sifted  as 
here.  Even  the  institutions  of  the  country  are  fa 
vourable  to  the  discovery  of  truth,  as  no  man  is  ex 
officio  considered  immaculate.  Love  of  country,  a 
stronger  passion  in  America  than  even  in  England,  or 
rather  a  more  general  one,  has  never  protected  an 
officer  in  a  false  colouring  of  a  victory  or  a  defeat, 
when  the  truth  was  within  the  reach  of  the  multitude. 
The  attempts  are  comparatively  rare,  for  the  hazard 
is  notorious.  During  the  war  of  the  revolution,  the 
public  documents  of  the  nation,  which  were  issued 
in  something  like  the  form  of  bulletins,  were  found 
to  be  so  true,  that  the  signature  of  the  Secretary  of 
Congress  was  universally  deemed  conclusive  as  to  all 
interesting  facts. 

"  In  no  one  instance  were  the  people  ever  inten 
tionally  deceived,  and  it  is  rare  indeed  that  they  were 
ever  deceived  at  all.     History,  in  1824,  gives  in  sub 
stance  the  same   accounts  of  our  battles,  fortunes, 
Cc 


290      EXCESSIVE  CREDULITY  AND  INCREDULITY. 

and  reverses,  as  did  Charles  Thompson  in  1776.  In 
deed,  it  would  be  just  as  impracticable  for  the  gov 
ernment  to  mislead,  for  any  length  of  time,  as  it 
would  for  an  individual  to  make  people  think  a  man 
could  work  a  miracle,  or  get  into  a  quart  bottle. 
Thus  we  are  spared  a  prodigious  amount  of  false 
hood,  which  prevails  elsewhere,  merely  because  no 
one  will  believe  it ;  or,  at  least,  there  will  not  be 
enough  of  the  credulous  to  permit  an  improbable  lie 
to  flourish.  Then  the  servile  deception,  which  is  a 
necessary  attendant  of  great  inequality  of  condition, 
cannot  be,  and  is  not,  as  frequent  here  as  in  Europe. 
A  mechanic  will  be  very  apt  to  tell  any  man  his  mind 
who  offends  him,  whether  he  be  a  governor  or  merely 
a  brother  in  the  trade. 

"  Moral  influence  is  also  quite  as  strong  in  the 
United  States,  as  in  the  most  moral  countries  of  the 
east.  Indeed,  I  know  but  one  cause  why  deception 
should  be  more  active  here  than  in  Europe,  while  I 
can  see  and  do  know  a  multitude  why  it  should  not. 
The  frequency  of  elections  certainly  gives  rise  to  a 
greater  frequency  of  those  amiable  misrepresenta 
tions  that  are  so  peculiar  to  all  political  struggles. 
But,  in  point  of  effect,  these  election  lies,  as  they*are 
called,  defeat  themselves  ;  they  indeed  do  even  more ; 
they  often  defeat  the  truth,  as  most  people  are  pre 
disposed  to  incredulity.  And  yet,  four  fifths  of  our 
elections  pass  away  like  this  you  have  just  witnessed, 
without  exciting  sufficient  interest  to  raise  a  lie  about 
them  at  all. 

"  Facts,  undeniable,  manifest,  and,  to  an  American, 
familiar  facts,  do  certainly  often  assume  to  the  un 
practised  ears  of  an  European,  an  air  of  startling  ex 
aggeration.  There  appears  in  mankind  a  disposition 
always  to  believe  too  much,  or  to  believe  too  little. 
The  exact  and  true  medium  is  hit  by  very  few,  who, 
by  uniting  a  sufficiency  of  experience  to  a  necessary 
amount  of  native  penetration,  are  enabled  to  estimate 


LEAVES  NEW-YORK    FOR   THE    SOUTH.  291 

testimony  with  accuracy.  I  have  repeatedly  felt, 
while  in  Europe,  the  embarrassment  of  encountering 
those  who  were  disposed  to  believe  miracles  on  the 
subject  of  my  country,  and  those  who  were  not  dis 
posed  to  believe  that  things,  under  any  circumstances, 
could  vary  materially  from  the  state  in  which  they 
existed,  before  their  own  eyes.  Even  educated 
men  cease  to  resemble  each  other  in  this  respect, 
for  all  the  books  in  the  world  cannot  qualify  a 
man  to  estimate  the  power  of  his  species  half  so 
well  as  personal  observation.  Our  very  obstinacy  in 
incredulity  on  practical  things,  goes  to  prove  the 
general  sense  of  mankind  concerning  the  value  of 
experience,  by  showing  how  apt  we  are  to  refuse 
credit  to  acts  which  exceed  any  thing  we  have  our 
selves  witnessed.  Perhaps,  in  a  country  where  so 
much  is  actually  done,  there  is  some  disposition,  on 
the  part  of  vulgar  minds,  to  exceed  possibility  in  their 
anticipations,  and  even  in  their  narrations,  but  this 
would  prove  the  quality  rather  than  the  amount  of 
our  misrepresentation.  On  the  whole,  I  incline  to 
the  opinion,  that  there  are  more  untruths  told  in  de 
nying  the  unparalleled  advances  of  this  country,  than 
in  affirming  it." 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 
&c.  Sec. 


Washington, 

OUR  passage  from  New- York  to  Philadelphia, 
though  the  distance  is  less  than  ninety  miles,  was 
made,  as  is  so  usual  here,  by  land  and  by  water.  In 
consequence  of  the  unequalled  facilities  offered  by 
their  rivers,  bays,  and  sounds,  the  Americans  enjoy 


292  ABUNDANCE    ON   THE    TABLES. 

in  a  very  large  portion  of  their  country,  the  means 
of  travelling  that  are  cheap  and  commodious  to  a 
degree  that  is  unknown  in  any  other  country.  Of  the 
steam-boats  I  have  already  spoken;  but  1  do  not 
remember  to  have  said  any  thing  concerning  their 
extraordinary  cheapness.  The  passage  money  is 
sometimes  little  more  than  nominal.  I  have  been 
conveyed  in  a  spacious,  convenient,  and  even  elegant 
boat,  the  distance  of  forty  miles,  for  something  less 
than  a  shilling  sterling.  .  This  was  certainly  cheaper 
than  common,  but  the  price  of  a  passage,  (food  in 
cluded,)  from  New-York  to  Albany,  varies  from  two 
to  four  dollars,  according  to  the  style  and  nature  of 
your  accommodations.  For  the  lowest  sum,  you 
travel  better  than  in  any  European  boat  I  have  ever 
yet  seen ;  and  for  the  highest,  if  the  excessive  crowds 
be  excepted,  with  a  degree  of  comfort  and  abundance 
that  is  really  next  to  incredible. 

I  think  the  first  thing  that  strikes  you  at  an  Ameri 
can  table,  is  the  liberality  with  which  it  is  supplied. 
The  excessive  abundance  is  a  fault.  The  innkeepers 
seem  to  understand  that  a  traveller  can  eat  but  a  cer 
tain  quantity,  and  they  appear  nearly  indifferent  as  to 
the  quality  of  the  articles  in  which  he  may  choose  to 
indulge.  Thus  game,  fish,  and  flesh,  are  placed  before 
him  in  very  liberal  quantities,  and  he  is  allowed  to 
choose  between  them.  What  he  leaves  is  silently 
removed,  pay  being  expected  only  for  that  which  is 
consumed.  Of  course  the  prices  and  the  quality  of 
the  viands,  no  less  than  the  style  in  which  they  are 
served,  differ  very  materially  in  a  country  of  such 
vast  extent.  In  the  older  States,  particularly  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  large  towns,  the  expenses  of  the  inns 
are  greater  than  in  the  interior,  though,  compared 
with  their  comfort  and  abundance,  never  equal  to 
that  which  we  pay  in  most  of  Europe.  Foreign 
travellers  are,  however,  often  deceived  on  the  sub 
ject,  from  ignorance  of  knowing  how  to  choose.  The 


MANNER    OF    TRAVELLING.  293 

stage-houses,  though  frequently  the  best  inns,  very 
often  deserve  to  be  classed  among  the  worst.  The 
traveller  in  a  stage  is  commonly  obliged  to  take  such 
fare  as  the  stage-house  affords.  There  is  no  posting, 
and  consequently  those  connected  lines  of  excellent 
inijs,  which  are  to  be  found  over  most  of  England, 
and  which  are  prepared  for  the  accommodation  of 
travellers  who  are  willing  to  pay  a  little  more  than 
common,  for  personal  indulgence,  are  unknown  here. 
But  still,  a  native  of  the  country,  and  especially  one 
of  higher  pretensions,  travels  in  all  the  older  States 
of  America,  with  vastly  more  comfort  than  a  stran 
ger  would  be  apt  to  suppose.  He  is  familiar  with 
his  privileges,  and  he  knows  how  to  assert  them  with 
out  offence ;  while  the  foreigner  either  submits  unne 
cessarily  to  privations,  from  an  exaggerated  opinion 
of  the  danger  of  offending  a  people,  of  whose  equality 
he  has  an  absurd  and  confused  opinion,  or  he  gives 
rational  cause  of  disgust,  by  assuming  airs  that  should 
be  practised  nowhere,  and  which  can  never  with 
perfect  impunity  be  practised  here. 

We  left  New-York  in  a  steam-boat  for  Brunswick, 
a  small  city  in  the  State  of  New-Jersey.  At  this  place 
we  found  no  less  than  thirteen  stages,  ready  tp  con 
vey  those  who  proceeded  to  the  river  Delaware. 
The  number  of  the  coaches  varies  according  to  the 
amount  of  travelling,  and  on  some  occasions  I  was 
told  it  exceeded  twenty. 

In  these  vehicles,  the  passengers  are  disposed  by 
a  very  simple  and  quiet  process,  and  with  an  expedi 
tion  that  marks  all  the  movements  of  these  active 
people.  You  are  only  to  imagine  a  hundred  pas 
sengers,  arriving  with  their  baggage  at  a  point  of  de 
barkation,  whence,  in  less  than  ten  minutes  of  time, 
they  were  to  proceed  in  coaches,  to  fancy  the  uproar 
and  confusion  that  would  occur  in  most  countries. 
The  steam-boat  lines,  as  they  are  called,  manage  the 
matter  differently. 

Cc2 


294  CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE    TRAVELLERS. 

Some  little  time  before  the  boat  arrives,  the  pas 
sengers  give  in  their  names,  and  receive  in  return, 
tickets,  which  bear  the  numbers  of  the  coaches  in 
which  they  are  to  proceed.  As  the  masters  of  the 
boats  have  a  method  of  making  these  arrangements, 
which  is  analogous  to  the  common  sense  customs  «of 
the  country  on  all  matters  which  relate  to  the  inte 
rior  regulations  of  society,  I  will  explain  it. 

You  will  readily  suppose  that  all  classes  of  people 
are  to  be  found  travelling  in  these  public  and  cheap 
conveyances ;  some  little  address  is  therefore  neces 
sary  to  dispose  of  an  assemblage  which  is  so  motley, 
and  whose  members  are  of  necessity  to  be  brought 
in  such  familiar  contact.  The  master  of  the  boat 
knew  Cadwallader,  and  to  him  he  immediately  gave 
ticket  No.  1  ;  not  that  the  stage  was  better  than  the 
rest,  but  because  it  was  necessary  to  keep  some 
division  of  the  subject  in  his  own  mind,  and  this  was 
probably  the  most  natural.  My  companion  pointed 
to  me,  and  I  received  No.  1 ,  also.  There  were  two 
or  three  pretty,  genteel  looking  women,  with  theii 
male  friends,  who  received  the  same  sort  of  tickets, 
until  the  stage  was  filled.  Then  came  Nos.  2,  3,  4, 
5,  and  6,  with  nearly  the  same  quality  of  travellers. 
In  one  or  two  instances  I  heard  requests  urged,  that 
families,  or  parties,  might  be  placed  together,  and 
several  changes  were  made  in  order  to  accommodate 
the  applicants.  There  were  two  or  three  vehicles 
filled  with  jolly  sons  of  the  ocean,  who  appeared  to 
relish  each  other's  society  better  than  they  would 
have  relished  ours ;  and  the  carriage  in  the  rear 
brought  on  a  dark  bevy  of  the  descendants  of  Ham. 
When  we  reached  the  shore,  each  one  sought  his 
number;  the  baggage,  which  had  been  previously 
marked  with  chalk,  was  transferred  to  its  proper 
vehicle,  and  the  whole  line  was  in  swift  motion,  in 
less  than  the  prescribed  time. 

In  order  to  get  a  view  of  the  country,  I  had  begged 


A  SAILOR  COACHMAN!  295 

a  seat  on  the  dicky,  by  the  side  of  the  coachman. 
As  the  driver  of  No.  1.  gave  the  movement  to  all  who 
came  after  him,  he  was,  of  course,  the  most  distin 
guished  whip  of  the  whole  procession.  My  com 
panion  certainly  deserved  his  honours,  for  he  not  only 
managed  his  team  with  great  dexterity,  hut  he  showed 
the  qualities  of  judgment  and  temper  in  that  degree 
which  I  think  distinguishes  most  of  the  native  coach 
men  of  this  country.  They  are  commonly  a  reason 
ing  and  discreet  race,  compared  to  so  many  of  their 
prototypes  in  Europe,  and  consequently  they  are 
humane.  A  little  discourse  soon  brought  us  acquaint 
ed,  and  to  my  amazement  I  found  the  coachman  was 
also  a  sailor,  and  that  a  year  or  two  before,  he  had 
actually  been  the  coxswain  of  a  commodore !  He 
had  driven  a  public  coach  in  England,  a  private 
coach  in  South  America,  and  now  he  was  driving  No. 
1.  of  the  steam-boat  line  at  home  !  "  Where  were  you 
born  ?"  I  asked.  "  Over  there,  in  that  house  you  see 
against  the  side  of  the  hill,"  he  answered,  pointing 
with  his  whip.  "  I  took  to  the  seas  about  the  same 
time  I  took  to  horses,  and  so  I  have  been  driving  and 
getting  a  wet  jacket,  turn  about,  two  or  three  seasons 
at  a  time,  these  five  and  twenty  years.  But  my  pipe 
is  out  now  for  the  seas,  since  I  broke  my  arm,  in 
which  there  is  scarce  strength  enough  left  to  hold  a 
bucket  of  water  to  the  heads  of  my  horses."  Here 
was  a  striking  case  of  the  diversity  of  employment 
which  is  so  common  in  America.  The  very  pursuits 
which,  in  Europe,  are  perhaps  the  most  opposed  to 
each  other,  were  here  successfully  exercised  by  the 
same  man.  When  I  mentioned  the  fact  to  Cadwal- 
lader,  he  told  me  that  such  professional  incongruities 
were  far  from  rare,  and  that  one  of  the  best  drivers 
of  a  public  coach  he  had  ever  known,  was  a  man 
who  had  diversified  his  life  by  sometimes  going  to 
sea.  Indeed,  I  am  persuaded  there  is  no  one  thing 
which  will  more  astonish  an  observant  and  good 


296  A    GOOD    AMERICAN    INN. 

humoured  traveller  through  this  country,  than  the  ex 
traordinary  aptitude  that  the  common  Americans  dis< 
play  in  the  exercise  of  callings  which  are  thought  to 
be  as  much  opposed  to  each  other  in  qualification  as 
that  of  a  coachman  and  that  of  a  coxswain  of  a  man- 
of-war. 

We  found  the  roads  very  tolerably  good,  the  horses 
excellent,  the  coaches,  though  not  exceedingly  easy, 
well  enough.  When  we  entered  Trenton,  the  coach 
was  stopped  by  Cadwallader,  and  we  descended  at 
an  inn,  which,  as  it  afterwards  appeared,  had  no  con 
nexion  with  the  stages.  Our  example  was  followed 
by  one  or  two  more,  the  rest  of  the  travellers  pro 
ceeding  to  the  regular  stage-house.  I  mention  this 
little  circumstance,  as  it  may  serve  to  give  an  idea 
of  a  description  of  inns  in  this  country,  of  which  even 
observant  travellers  in  it  do  not  often  get  any  notion, 
but  which,  nevertheless,  abound  in  all  the  northern 
and  eastern  States.  Under  favour  of  my  friend's 
experience,  I  have  entered  fifty  such,  some  not  quite 
as  good,  and  some  even  better  than  the  one  I  am 
about  to  describe  : — 

At  Bispham's,  Trenton,  we  were  received  by  the 
landlord  with  perfect  civility,  but  without  the  slightest 
shade  of  obsequiousness.  The  deportment  of  the 
innkeeper  was  manly,  courteous,  and  even  kind ;  but 
there  was  that  in  his  air,  which  sufficiently  proved 
that  both  parties  were  expected  to  manifest  the  same 
qualities.  We  were  asked  if  we  all  formed  one  party, 
or  whether  the  gentlemen  who  alighted  from  number 
one,  wished  to  be  by  themselves.  The  reply  was, 
that  we  wished  to  be  alone.  We  were  shown  into 
a  neat  well-furnished  little  parlour,  where  our  supper 
made  its  appearance  in  the  course  of  twenty  minutes. 
The  table  contained  many  little  delicacies,  such  as 
game,  oysters,  and  choice  fish,  and  several  things 
wero  named  to  us  as  at  hand,  if  needed.  Cadwalla- 


ITS  COMFORTS  AND  CHEAPNESS.        297 

der  had  tea,  while  I  took  coffee.  The  former  was 
excellent,  the  latter,  as  usual,  indifferent  enough. 
The  papers  of  New- York  and  Philadelphia  were 
brought  in  at  our  request,  and  we  sat,  with  our  two 
candles,  before  a  cheerful  fire,  reading  them  as  long 
as  we  pleased.  Our  bed-chambers  were  spacious, 
well  furnished,  and  as  nc;i<  MS  possible,  and  the  beds 
as  good  as  one  usually  finds  them  out  of  France.  In 
the  morning  we  left  the  house  before  breakfast,  in 
order  to  rejoin  our  steam-boat  line,  which  took  the 
river  a  short  mile  from  the  place  where  we  slept. 
Now,  for  these  accommodations,  which  were  just 
as  good,  with  one  solitary  exception,  (water-closets,) 
as  you  would  meet  in  the  better  order  of  English 
provincial  inns,  and  much  better  in  the  quality  and 
abundance  of  the  food,  we  paid  the  sum  of  4s.  6d.  ster 
ling  each.  I  confess  I  did  not  think  it  was  enough,  and 
proposed  to  my  companion  to  make  an  addition. 
"Put  up  your  purse,"  he  said,  smiling;  "all  we  ask 
is,  that  when  you  get  back,  you  will  merely  tell 
what  you  have  seen.  This  man  has  his  price,  and 
will  take  neither  more  nor  less  "  You  must  also 
remember,  that  in  America,  when  you  pay  the  regu 
lar  price  for  any  thing,  you  commonly  have  paid  all. 
I  have  never  known  a  servant  ask  for  a  douceur; 
and  though  people  of  a  certain  class  generally  give  a 
trifle  to  the  man  who  cleans  boots,  or  to  him  who 
does  any  little  extra  services,  neither  waiter,  cham 
bermaid,  nor  any  one  else,  demands  it.  It  is  just  the 
same  in  the  steam-boats,  stages,  hackney-coaches, 
&c.,  when  you  get  the  regular  price,  you  know  all 
the  necessary  expense,  and  I  use  the  word  necessary, 
in  reference  to  custom  no  less  than  right.* 


*  A  trifle  is  commonly  expected  for  transferring  the  baggage 
from  the  steam-boats  to  the  coaches,  and  vice  versa.  Sometimes 
an  European,  or  an  experienced  American  servant  in  the  largo 
towns,  will  look  as  if  he  expected  a  present. 


298  SECOND  ONLY  TO  ENGLISH  INNS. 

I  have  been  in  a  vast  number  of  these  inns.  S'o 
far  from  putting  people  three  in  a  bed,  they  apologize 
for  the  necessity  of  putting  friends  in  the  same  roo  u 
when  it  is  necessary ;  and  on  the  slightest  hesitation 
at  such  an  arrangement  being  manifested,  they  do  all 
they  can  to  obviate  the  necessity. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  it  is  possible  to  arrive  at  any 
very  exact  estimate  of  the  taverns  in  this  country. 
They  are  certainly  more  numerous  than  I  remember 
to  have  ever  seen  them  before,  especially  on  all  the 
great  routes.  A  vast  number  are  very  bad,  and  it 
might  be  difficult  for  even  a  native  to  travel  in  his 
own  carriage  any  great  distance  without  occasionally 
encountering  some  of  the  sort;  but,  always  confining 
my  remarks  to  the  older  and  more  northern  States, 
and  making  the  exceptions  which  are  peculiar  to  the 
two  countries,  I  am  of  opinion  that  there  are  quite 
as  many  good  taverns  in  America  as  in  England, 
while  there  are  infinitely  more  bad  ones.  The  former, 
certainly,  do  not  occur  at  every  five  miles  ;  but  in 
order  to  institute  a  fair  comparison,  it  is  necessary  to 
remember  the  vast  difference  in  the  sizes  of  the  two 
countries.  In  this  simple  fact  exists  the  secret  of  the 
apparent  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  taverns. 
But  an  American  inn,  and,  indeed,  the  inn  of  every 
other  country  except  England,  is  almost  always  de 
ficient  in  the  one  great  nameless  convenience  already 
mentioned  in  this  letter.  The  servants  here  are  not 
so  good  as  in  Europe  generally,  and  much  inferior  to 
those  in  England.  I  make  my  comparisons  with  your 
inns,  because  they  are,  as  a  class,  more  uniformly 
good  than  those  of  any  other  country,  and  because 
the  best  of  yours  are  unquestionably  among  the  best 
of  the  world.  I  know  no  other  country  indeed  in 
which  the  inns  will  compare,  on  the  whole,  with 
those  of  the  older  parts  of  America.  The  inns  of 
France,  in  the  large  towns,  cleanliness  excepted,  are 


HABITS    OF    THE    EX-KING.  299 

about  equal  to  the  inns  in  the  large  towns  here ;  but 
the  best  inns  of  the  villages  are  vastly  inferior.*' 

The  passage  down  the  Delaware,  though  pic 
turesque,  and  far  from  unpleasing,  will  bear  no  com 
parison  with  that  on  the  Hudson.  Still,  one  may  get 
an  idea  of  the  great  beauty  of  all  these  splendid 
views  by  recalling  the  fact  that  numberless  European 
travellers  who  have  made  the  excursion  to  Philadel 
phia  before  going  north,  extol  the  former  river  to  the 
skies. 

A  few  miles  below  Trenton,  Joseph  Bonaparte 
has  sought  a  retreat  from  the  cares  and  mortifications 
of  the  old  world.  He  lives  in  a  sort  of  retirement 
which  embraces  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  de 
pendants.  The  family  of  Bonaparte  is  already  getting 
to  be  numerous  in  America,  and  it  is  probable  that  in 
a  few  years  the  name  will  be  found  in  the  rolls  of 
Congress  :  a  century  hence  it  may  possibly  be  seen 
on  the  signs  of  the  cities.  Besides  'he  ex-king,  (who 
has  assumed  the  title  of  Compte  de  Survilliers,  the 
name  of  a  little  village  which  lies  adjacent  to  the 
splendid  chateau  of  Morfontaine,)  there  are  a  son  of 
Lucien,  (married  to  the  oldest  daughter  of  Joseph,) 
a  son  of  Jerome  by  his  first,  or  the  American  wife, 
and  two  sons  of  the  hapless  Murat.  Charles,  the  son 
of  Lucien,  has  childien  born  in  the  country,  and  who 
consequently  are  possessed  of  the  rights  of  natives. 
This  young  man  is  already  favourably  known  for  his 
devotion  to,  and  for  his  attainments  in  science.  He  is 
said  to  be  simple  in  his  habits,  and  to  have  found 
favour  among  the  republicans  of  these  regions. 

The  Compte  de  Survilliers,  I  believe,  does  not 
mingle  much  with  the  society  of  the  country.  He 

*  If  we  take  cooking  into  the  account,  there  are  inns  now,  in 
the  northern  and  western  parts  of  France,  that  are  quite  equal 
to  the  best  English  provincial  inns.  Those  who  are  very  luxu  • 
rious  in  their  beds  may  even  think  them  better. 


300  NAPOLEON  IN  AMERICA. 

does  not  speak  the  language ;  and,  as  French  is  not 
so  generally  understood  here  as  in  Europe,  that  cir 
cumstance  alone  would  oppose  obstacles  to  his  wishes, 
did  he  even  feel  a  desire  to  live  more  in  the  world. 
He  is  said  to  be  unassuming  when  he  does  appear  in 
public;  and,  in  consequence,  is  rather  in  favour  than 
otherwise.*  Many  absurd  conjectures  were  hazarded 
at  the  time  on  the  probable  -consequences,  had  Na 
poleon  succeeded  in  his  project  of  reaching  the  United 
States.  These  conjectures,  like  a  thousand  others 
connected  with  the  events  of  the  hour,  are  already 
forgotten  among  the  evanescent  interests  of  the  past , 
but  it  was  recalled  to  my  mind  as  I  gazed  at  the  se 
cluded  and  irregular  chateau  of  his  brother.  "  What 
would  Napoleon  have  done  with  your  institutions, 
had  he  reached  your  shores  ?"  was  the  question  I  put 
to  Cadwallader.  "He  would  have  found  some  agree 
able  site,  like  this  of  Joseph,  and  told  his  tales  of  Italy 
and  of  France  to  travellers  in  the  west,  instead  of 
telling  them  to  travellers  in  the  ea^t.  As  no  one  man 
had  any  exceeding  influence  in  creating  our  institu 
tions,  rely  on  it  they  will  not  speedily  fall  before  the 
talents,  or  even  virtues,  of  any  single  individual.  That 
which  we  owe  to  ourselves  as  the  work  of  our  own 
hands,  our  own  hands  will  preserve;  and  while  kings 
can  find  on  earth  no  more  peaceful  asylum  than  that 


*  A  few  years  since,  the  house  of  the  Compte  de  Survilliers 
was  burnt  by  accident.  A  few  days  after  the  conflagration,  a 
card  appeared  in  a  journal  of  the  vicinity,  in  which  the  sufferer, 
after  returning1  thanks  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring 
village  of  Bordentown,  for  their  promptitude  in  coming  to  his 
assistance,  alluded  to  the  circumstance,  that  none  of  his  effects 
had  been  purloined  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion  in  terms  of 
commendation.  The  writer  understood  that  the  thanks  were 
well  enough  received,  for  they  were  usual,  but  that  a  momentary 
offence  was  given  to  the  inhabitants,  by  any  man  presuming  to 
thank  them  for  common  honesty !  The  people  of  the  vicinity 
have,  however,  already  forgotten  their  pique,  for  they  speak  of 
thier  neighbour  with  great  kindness. 


PHILADELPHIA.  301 

we  offer  them,  imagination  cannot  conceive  a  less 
profitable  theatre  for  the  enactment  of  a  royal  drama, 
We  are  ready  to  extend  hospitality  to  both  parties — 
subjects  who  are  tired  of  their  kings,  and  kings  who 
are  tired  of  their  subjects ;  but  the  great  political  role 
of  this  country  must  be  played  in  our  own  simple 
fashion,  and  -with  scenery  and  decorations  that  shall 
suit  the  national  taste." 

I  found  Philadelphia  remarkable  for  its  regularity 
of  construction,  its  neatness  and  its  quietude.  It  has 
much  more  the  air  of  a  better  sort  of  English  town, 
or,  in  fact,  of  a  quarter  of  London,  than  even  New- 
York,  though  there  are  points  of  marked  difference, 
as  well  as  of  resemblance,  between  the  City  of  Broth 
erly-love  and  the  capital  of  the  mother  country.  The 
bricks  are  not  painted,  and  the  eye  immediately  misses 
the  gay,  cheerful  look  which  distinguishes  New-York. 
Herein  it  resembles  a  well-built  and  clean  town  of 
England;  but  its  exceeding  neatness  is  almost  peculiar 
to  this  country,  aided  as  it  is  by  objects  of  ornament 
that  are  not  found  in  the  streets  of  any  English  city. 
A  vast  number  of  the  door-steps  are  of  white  marble ; 
many  of  the  caps  and  sills  of  the  windows,  and  even 
parts  of  the  side-walks,  are  chiselled  in  the  same  ma 
terial.  Indeed,  the  profusion  of  this  stone  in  the  best 
streets  serves  to  enliven  the  appearance  of  the  place, 
though  I  acknowledge  that  I  have  some  doubts  of  the 
taste  which  creates  so  violent  a  contrast  as  that  be 
tween  white  and  red. 

In  architecture,  Philadelphia,  beyond  all  doubt, 
excels  its  great  commercial  neighbour.  The  private 
buildings  do  not  materially  vary  from  those  I  have 
described,  though  I  think  it  may  be  said  there  is  less 
taste  for  luxury,  generally,  in  this  place  than  in  New- 
York.  If  any  thing,  the  furniture  is  more  simple, 
though  always  neat,  and  often  exceedingly  rich.  A 
gentleman  of  Philadelphia  is  about  as  well  lodged  as 
that  portion  of  the  English  nobility  and  gentry  who 
Dd 


302  PUBLIC    BUILDINGS. 

are  not  the  proprietors  of  capital  town-houses.  This 
brings  him  on  a  level  with  most  of  the  Frenchmen 
below  those  who  singly  occupy  large  hotels. 

Of  public  edifices  there  is  a  larger  and  better  dis 
play  than  in  New- York,  churches  alone  excepted. 
A  good  and  an  improving  taste  is  certainly  prevalent 
in  this  city  on  the  subject  of  architecture.  I  believe 
it  is  generally  admitted,  that  the  finest  modern  edifice 
we  know  is  the  Bourse  of  Paris.  •  You  will  be  sur 
prised,  perhaps,  when  I  say,  that,  next  to  this  exquisite 
work  of  art,  I  rank  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in 
this  city.  There  are  certainly  a  hundred  buildings 
in  Europe  of  a  very  similar  style,  and  of  far  more 
laboured  ornaments ;  but  I  cannot  remember  one,  in 
which  simplicity,  exquisite  proportion,  and  material, 
unite  to  produce  so  fine  a  whole.  It  is  doric,  without 
side  colonnades,  not  particularly  large,  though  of 
sufficient  size  for  effect,  and  of  white  marble.  The 
church  of  the  Madeleine  at  Paris,  for  instance,  when 
completed,  should  be  an  edifice  of  a  vast  deal  more 
of  pretension ;  but,  notwithstanding  its  admirable  po 
sition,  its  great  size,  and  its  immense  colonnades,  I 
do  not  believe  it  will  ever  produce  so  pleasing  an 
effect  as  this  chaste  and  severe  little  temple  of  Plutus. 
It  is  certain  that  the  Madeleine  stands  in  a  position 
to  try  its  powers  of  pleasing  to  the  utmost;  for, 
flanked  by  the  Garde  Meuble,  and  fronting  the  faqade 
of  the  Chambre  des  Deputes,  no  imperfection  is  per 
mitted  to  escape,  without  quick  comparative  criticism. 
I  am  not  sure  that  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  does 
not  owe  some  of  its  charms  to  the  fact  that  it  has  no 
rival  near ;  but  even  that  circumstance  is  a  merit  in 
the  architect,  since  he  could  have  had  no  other  eye 
than  that  of  the  mind  to  regulate  his  proportions. 

Philadelphia  has  other  clever  edifices.  There  is 
another  banking-house  in  classic  taste,  and  several 
more  buildings  erected  for  the  monied  institutions,  (a 
tribute  to  gold,  perhaps,  to  be  expected  here)  are  m 


A  MANUFACTURING  CITY.  303 

a  very  good  style.  An  immense  building  is  in  the 
course  of  construction  for  a  Penitentiary,  and  wears 
a  promising  air.  The  Fair  Mount  water-works  are 
well  worthy  the  examination  of  every  stranger. 

But  you,  who  know,  by  melancholy  experience, 
how  little  there  is  actually  worth  viewing  in  the 
oldest  countries  of  the  earth,  after  the  first  interest 
of  curiosity  has  been  appeased,  should  not  be  sur 
prised  to  learn,  that  an  American  city  can  contain 
very  .little  to  reward  the  eye,  unless  that  which  is  seen 
should  be  taken  in  connexion  with  the  moral  agents 
that  have  assisted  to  bring  it  into  existence.  In  the 
latter  respect,  one  has  cause  of  astonishment  at  each 
step  taken  in  this  rapidly  advancing  country,  and  in 
no  place  more  than  in  Philadelphia. 

New- York  is  a  great  commercial  town  ;  but  this 
city  is  more  devoted  to  manufacturing.  It  is  much 
cheaper  than  the  former  place,  and  in  many  particu 
lars  admirably  adapted  to  maintain  its  present  pur 
suits.  There  is  no  want  of  capital ;  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  day  is  not  distant  when  it  shall 
become  a  modified,  or  improved,  Manchester  or  Bir 
mingham.  Its  present  population  is  about  140,000.* 

I  will  not  say  we  found  in  Philadelphia  a  better 
bred,  or  a  more  enlightened  society,  than  we  found  in 
New-York,  for  this  would  not  be  strictly  true ;  but 
we  found  it  less  interrupted  by  the  intrusions  of  that 
portion  of  the  world  which  is  purely  commercial. 
The  constant  and  vast  accessions  to  the  population 
of  the  latter  city  keep  society  in  a  constant  state  of 
fermentation,  as  I  have  already  mentioned :  and  it  is 
not  always  easy  to  tell  into  which  of  its  currents  or 
bubblings  one  has  fallen.  It  is  more  easy  to  keep  pace 

*  The  writer  has  more  than  once  said,  that  Philadelphia  city 
contains,  at  the  present  day,  about  150,000,  and  New- York  near 
200,000,  exclusive  of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  a  suburb  on  the 
Long  Island  side  of  the  strait  or  arm  of  the  sea,  Vfhich  must 
have  of  itself  quite  12,000. 


304  ROUTE    BY    THE    INTERIOR. 

with  the  movements  of  this  tranquil  town.  With  the 
exception  of  those  who  are  literally  men  of  the  world, 
and  they  are  not  numerous,  I  should  say  also,  that  the 
inheritance  of  Penn  is  in  a  slight  degree  more  provin 
cial  in  its  habits  and  manners  than  the  sister  city. 

Instead  of  following  the  river  in  our  route  to  Balti 
more,  we  went  by  a  road  of  the  interior.  The  first 
day's  journey  was  through  one  of  the  most  highly  cul 
tivated  and  richest  agricultural  districts  of  this,  or  of 
any  other,  quarter  of  the  world.  The  appearance  of 
the  country,  with  the  exceptions  already  named,  was 
essentially  English,  though  I  have  seen  no  part  of 
England  where  such  farm-houses  and  barns  are  to  be 
seen  as  we  met  with  here.  The  villages  are  few.  and 
but  small,  though  there  are  two  or  three  market- 
towns  of  some  size  on  the  route.  The  natural  scenery 
was  rather  like  that  of  Normandy  than  that  of  Eng 
land,  though  the  artificial  parts  were  much  in  the 
English  taste,  always  excepting  hedges. 

The  Susquehannah  was  crossed  by  a  noble  wooden 
bridge,  which  was  said  to  be  a  mile  long.  This  was 
the  twentieth  of  these  immense  constructions  in 
wood,  that  I  have  seen  since  my  landing ;  nor  are 
they  the  smallest  subjects  of  my  surprize.  The  great 
enterprise  and  exceeding  ingenuity  of  the  people  are 
here  displayed  to  great  advantage.  It  is  only  neces 
sary  to  discover  the  want  of  a  bridge,  or  a  canal,  to 
insure  an  effort,  and  commonly  a  successful  one,  to 
bring  it  into  existence.  A  bridge,  a  quarter,  a  half, 
or  even  a  whole  mile,  in  length,  as  is  the  case  with 
that  of  Columbia  (across  the  Susquehannah),  is  no 
extraordinary  undertaking  for  the  inhabitants  of  a 
country  which,  forty  years  before,  and  often  less,  was 
an  entire  wilderness.  I  scarcely  know  how  to  give 
you  a  correct  idea  of  one  of  these  avenues  of  timber. 
As  they  are  commonly  thrown  across  some  vast  river, 
or  perhaps  a  lake,  on  whose  banks  the  native  forest 
is  to  be  found,  the  material  is  cheap,  and  easy  to  be 


IMMENSE    BRIDGES.  305 

transported.  The  cost,  therefore,  is  in  no  proportion 
to  the  magnitude  of  the  work.  They  are  built  on 
different  plans ;  some  being  as  rude  and  simple  as 
possible,  and  others  forming  beautiful  models  of 
scientific  skill,  and  even  of  taste.  I  should  think  a 
majority  of  them  are  suspended  by  chains.  Some  are, 
however,  suspended  by  wood,  from  arches  of  timber, 
that  rest  either  on  piers  of  stone,  or  on  well-secured 
foundations  of  frame-work.  The  better  sort  are  cov 
ered,  having  roofs  and  even  windows  ;  so  that  it  often 
happens  that  the  traveller,  perhaps  whilst  ruminating 
m  the  recent  origin  of  this  country,  finds  himself 
journeying  through  an  edifice  which  is  from  a  quar 
ter  of  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  length. 

The  State  of  Pennsylvania  possesses  a  population, 
less  identified  with  the  great  national  character,  than 
any  other  member  of  this  confederation.  It  is  com 
puted  that  about  one-third  of  all  its  inhabitants  are 
the  descendants  of  German  emigrants.  They  are 
remarkably  tenacious  of  their  own  customs  and  opin 
ions,  and  even  of  their  language,  though  the  whole 
are  gradually  giving  way  before  the  superior  influence 
of  the  English  character.  I  conversed  with  several 
of  the  yeomen  of  this  description  of  inhabitants. 
They  spoke  English  with  an  accent  as  if  it  were  a 
language  acquired  after  infancy,  and  it  was  easy  to 
trace  a  difference  in  the  activity  of  their  thoughts,  as 
compared  with  those  of  most  of  their  countrymen. 
I  found  them,  however,  possessed  of  the  same  notions 
of  political  liberty,  which  have  been  so  long  estab 
lished  in  this  country,  as  to  have  become  essential 
ingredients  in  the  characters  of  all  its  inhabitants. 
I  met  with  others,  whose  descent  could  only  be 
traced  in  their  names  ;  their  manners,  language,  and 
opinions,  having  already  undergone  the  final  change. 

The  existence  of  so  large  a  body  of  people,  pos 
sessing  a  language  and  prejudices  of  their  own,  and 
living  so  near  to  each  other,  as  to  render  it  easy  to 
Dd  2 


306  CHARACTER    OF    THE    POPULATION. 

perpetuate  them  all  (for  a  time  at  least),  has  not  been 
without  its  inconvenience  to  the  State.  It  is  said,  that 
their  hostility  to  innovation  has  induced  these  people 
to  oppose  the  introduction  of  common  schools,  a 
policy  which,  if  much  longer  persevered  in,  is  in 
itself  sufficient  to  throw  their  community  a  century  ii 
the  rear  of  their  neighbours.  There  are  other  estab- 
lishments  of  the  Germans  in  different  parts  of  the 
Union,  but  none  near  so  wealthy  nor  important  as  the 
people  just  named.  There  are  also  the  French  of 
Louisiana,  the  Spaniards  of  Florida,  and  a  few  Hol 
landers  in  New-Jersey,  New-York,  &c.  &c.  But  the 
whole  of  these  slight  differences  in  identity  of  char 
acter,  are  fast  disappearing,  and  it  is  probable  that 
another  generation  will  effect  their  extinction.  As 
near  as  I  can  learn,  quite  nine  millions  of  the  ten 
who  compose  the  white  population  of  this  country 
are  descendants  of  the  English  (Irish  and  Scotch 
included);  the  rest  may  spring  from  half  the  other 
nations  of  Europe,  chiefly,  however,  the  Germans,  the 
Dutch,  and  the  French,  and  in  proportions  agreeably 
to  the  order  in  which  they  are  named.  But  of  this 
million,  assuming  the  estimate  to  be  exact,  which  in 
itself  is  not  quite  certain,  more  than  half  have  proba 
bly  lost  all  the  distinctive  marks  of  their  origin,  if  we 
except  those  who  are  actually  Europeans  by  birth.* 
I  do  not  think  one  meets  as  many  foreigners  estab 
lished  in  this  country  as  the  circumstances  might  give 
reason  to  believe.  There  are  particular  places  where 
they  assemble,  and  where  they  are  rather  striking  by 
their  numbers,  but,  in  the  interior,  I  have  frequently 


*  The  writer  is  told  that  an  immense  emigration  to  the  United 
States  has  occurred  since  he  left  it.  One  statement  says  that 
22,000  Irish  alone,  arrived  at  the  city  of  New- York  during  the 
last  year.  The  citizens  complain  of  their  riotous  and  disorderly 
conduct,  and  it  is  thought  some  severe  remedy  will  be  adopted 
to  cure  an  evil  that  is  getting  to  be  serious. 


ENTRANCE  OF  A  SnAVE  STATE.        307 

travelled  days  without  meeting  with  an  individual  of 
the  sort  to  know  him.* 

Before  we  quitted  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  there 
was  a  sensible  change  for  the  worse,  in  the  appear 
ance  of  the  country,  and  we  entered  Maryland  at  a 
point  but  little  adapted  to  give  us  the  most  favour 
able  impressions  of  the  effects  of  a  slave  population. 
The  aspect  of  things,  however,  changed  materially 
for  the  better  as  we  approached  Baltimore,  whose 
environs,  seen  as  I  saw  them  in  a  mild  day  late  in  the 
autumn,  when  a  second  spring  so  often  seems  about 
to  open  on  the  vegetation  of  this  climate,  were  as 
pleasing  as  those  of  any  town  I  remember. 

Baltimore  is  a  neat,  well-built  city,  of  near  70,000 
inhabitants.  It  contains  many  excellent  private  houses, 
and  some  public  edifices,  in  better  taste  than  com 
mon  ;  but,  like  Philadelphia,  it  wants  the  gay,  ani 
mated  look  which  renders  New-York  so  very  remark- 


*  By  the  last  census  of  the  State  of  New- York,  there  were 
40,430  aliens,  in  a  population  of  1,616,458.  But  this  enumera 
tion  is  liable  to  explanation.  A  native  of  Europe  who  has  be 
come  a  citizen  is  not  an  alien,  while  a  native  of  the  United  States 
who  is  not  a  citizen,  is.  The  latter  class,  though  not  very  im 
portant,  is  more  numerous  than  one  would  suppose.  There  were 
many  natives  who  took  sides  with  the  crown  in  the  war  of  1776, 
and  who  still  retain  their  characters  of  British  subjects,  being1 
pensioners,  &c.  &c.  although  they  prefer  to  reside,  and  even 
to  leave  their  descendants  in  the  place  of  their  birth.  Such  per 
sons  are  aliens  of  course,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  There  are 
others  who  have  come  to  the  country  with  an  intention  to  reside, 
and  to  establish  their  children,  who  are  averse  to  throw  aside 
their  native  allegiance.  These  continue  aliens.  There  are  others, 
again,  who  intend  to  become  citizens,  but  who  have  not  yet 
completed  the  term  of  probation.  In  addition  to  these  explana 
tions,  the  city  of  New- York  receives  more  emigrants,  perhaps, 
than  all  the  rest  of  the  United  States  together,  and  it  is  the  cho 
sen  residence  of  foreign  merchants  established  in  the  country. 
It  may  be  well  to  add,  that  there  were  5,610  paupers  included  in 
this  census  of  the  State  of  New-York,  or  about  one  pauper  to 
every  288  of  the  inhabitants.  Of  this  number,  1,742  were  in  the 
city  of  New- York  alone.  A  vast  number  of  paupers  from  Europe 
are  dishonestly  thrown  upon  the  shores  of  this  country. 


308  BALTIMORE. 

able.  The  difference  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  want 
of  paint,  and  to  the  greater  activity  of  business  in  the 
latter  place.  We  found  here,  as  indeed  on  most  of 
our  recent  route,  excellent  inns,  and  took  up  our 
abode  for  several  days.* 

I  saw  in  this  city,  for  the  first  time  since  my  arri' 
val,  a  monument  erected  to  Washington.  It  is  a 
noble  column,  in  stone,  and  is  admirably  placed  on 
elevated  ground,  in  what  is  now  a  suburb,  but  which 
I  believe  it  is  intended  shall  one  day  become  a  public 
square.  The  want  of  these  squares  is  a  great  defect 
in  all  the  cities  I  have  seen,  though  it  is  one  which 
will  soon  be  repaired.  The  plans  of  most  of  them 
embrace  more  or  less  areas  of  the  sort,  and  some  of 
them  are  already  beginning  to  be  enjoyed.  There  is 
also  another  monument,  in  very  good  taste,  to  per 
petuate  the  memory  of  those  citizens  who  fell  in  a 
skirmish  with  the  British,  during  the  last  war,  in  de 
fence  of  this  city.  The  whole  number  was  not  great, 
(some  thirty  or  forty  militia,  I  believe,)  but  it  was 
thought  their  quality  gave  them  a  particular  claim  on 
the  gratitude  of  their  townsmen. 

You  may  remember  that  General  Ross,  after  his 
successful  attack  on  Washington,  made  a  movement 
threatening  Baltimore  Your  countrymen  possessed 
an  incalculable  advantage  in  the  command  of  the 
sea,  by  means  of  which  they  not  only  directed  their 
attacks  against  the  most  defenceless  points,  but  they 
were  always  enabled  to  keep  their  adversaries  in  an 


*  An  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  great  amount  of  travelling  in 
the  United  States,  by  the  size  of  the  inns.  One  was  building  in 
Baltimore  before  the  writer  left  America,  which  promised  to  ex> 
ceed  in  size  any  he  remembers.  The  City  Hotel,  in  New- York, 
is  a  vast  edifice;  and,  in  a  great  number  of  the  western  villages, 
the  writer  saw  taverns  that  were  as  large  as  many  of  the  Paris 
hotels.  In  a  country  where  domestics  are  never  abundant,  and 
are  often  bad,  this  disproportion  between  the  number  of  the 
guests  and  the  attendants  is  a  striking  fault. 


ATTEMPT    OF    THE    ENGLISH.  309 

embarrassing  ignorance  of  their  force.  Thus,  about 
the  period  of  the  expedition  to  Washington,  I  see,  by 
the  journals  of  that  day,  an  opinion  prevailed  in 
America  that  England,  released  from  her  European 
war,  had  sent  Lord  Hill  against  them,  at  the  head  of 
a  large  army.  It  is  quite  possible  that  agents  of  your 
commanders  were  industrious  in  circulating  a  rumour 
that  seemed  so  very  probable.  The  Americans  say, 
that  their  ignorance  of  the  force  of  General  Ross 
alone  saved  him  from  destruction. 

But  Baltimore  was  a  far  more  important  place 
than  Washington,  and  time  had  been  given  to  collect 
an  army  of  citizens.  Ths  whole  affair  terminated  in 
a  hot  skirmish  between  an  advanced  party  of  some 
two  or  three  thousand  Americans,  and  a  portion  of 
the  British  army.  The  former  retreated,  as  had  been 
expected,  but  the  English  commander  lost  his  life  iii 
the  rencontre.  His  successor  wisely  abandoned  an 
attempt  that  must  have  terminated  in  the  annihilation 
of  his  force,  which  was  neither  strong  enough  to  carry 
the  defences  of  the  place,  nor  to  protect  itself  against 
an  attack  when  suffering  under  reverses,  and  from  an 
enemy  who  would  soon  have  been  apprized  of  its 
weakness.  A  bombardment  of  a  fort,  which  was  de 
fended  by  regular  troops,  proved  also  totally  useless.* 


*  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  and  deserving  of  explanation,  that 
no  attack,  of  any  importance,  against  an  American  fort  by  ships, 
has  ever  been  successful,  while  a  great  number  have  been  sig 
nally  defeated.  The  reader  of  American  history  is  familiar  with 
the  affairs  of  Fort  Moultrie,  Fort  Mifflin,  Fort  Boyer,  &c.  &C1. ; 
but  where  is  he  to  find  the  reverse  of  the  picture  ?  The  writer 
has  heard  more  than  one  professional  man  say,  it  is  just  as  im 
possible  for  ships  to  reduce  forts  (under  tolerably  equal  circum 
stances)  as  it  is  for  forts  to  stop  the  passage  of  ships  when  fa 
voured  by  wind  and  tide.  This  theory,  if  true,  is  consoling  to 
humanity,  since  one  should  always  wish  success  to  the  assailed, 
especially  when  they  defend  a  town  against  the  assaults  of  hire 
lings.  The  exceptions  of  Algiers  and  Navarino  prove  nothing, 
since  the  defenders  were  semi-barbarous ;  and  at  Copenhagen, 


310  RESIDENCE    AT    BALTIMORE. 

We  have  been  pleased  with  our  residence  at  Bal 
timore.  It  contains  a  great  many  polished  and  en 
lightened  men ,  and  perhaps,  there  is  no  part  of  this 
Union  where  society  is  more  elegant,  or  the  women 
handsomer.  The  latter  circumstance  soothed  my 
feelings  during  the  delay  of  a  fortnight. — Adieu. 


the  victory  was  over  a  flotilla  rather  than  over  the  batteries. 
The  destruction  of  the  little  work  on  the  Potomac,  when  the 
British  ascended  that  river,  was  clearly  an  evacuation  and  not  a 
defeat,  and  was  decided  on  from  an  exaggerated  notion  of  the 
power  of  the  troops  in  its  rear,  and  not  at  all  in  consequence  of 
the  marine  attack.  It  was  abandoned  at  the  first  «hot. 


NOTES. 


NOTE  A.— Page  6. 

"  I  OWE  you  an  explanation,"  my  friend  continued,  after 
the  usual  language  of  civility,  "  for  the  little  interest  that  1 
have  manifested  in  your  persevering  attempts  to  obtain  such 
English  works  as  may  form  a  preparation  for  your  intended 
travels  in  America.  I  will  make  no  further  secret  of  the 
cause,  and  when  you  hear  my  sentiments  on  this  matter,  I 
think  you  will  learn  those  which  are  common  to  a  very  great 
majority  of  my  countrymen. 

"  At  the  period  when  I  grew  into  manhood,  that  bitterness 
of  feeling  which  had  been  created  in  the  United  States  to 
wards  Great  Britain,  by  the  struggle  of  the  revolution,  had 
greatly  subsided,  in  a  return  of  the  kindness  which  was  natu 
ral  to  affinity  of  blood,  and  to  a  community  of  language, 
usages,  and  opinions.  Our  object  in  the  war  had  been  ob 
tained.  When  we  reverted  to  its  events,  it  was  rather  with 
exultation  than  hostility.  Scenes  of  personal  suffering,  and 
perhaps  of  personal  wrongs,  were  forgotten  in  the  general 
prosperity.  It  is  not  necessary  to  ascribe  any  peculiar  qual 
ities  of  magnanimity,  or  of  Christian  charity,  to  the  American 
people,  in  order  to  maintain  that  fewer  instances  of  a  generous 
and  manly  forgetfulness  can  be  furnished  in  the  history  of 
nations,  than  what  they  generally  manifested  towards  their 
former  rulers.  The  past  presented  recollections  on  which 
they  were  not  ashamed  to  dwell,  while  the  future  was  replete 
with  the  most  animating  hopes.  In  such  an  enviable  position, 
a  community,  like  an  individual,  must  have  been  odiously 
constituted  to  find  pleasure  in  the  contemplation  of  any  but 
the  brighter  parts  of  human  character.  We  gave  the  English 
credit  for  the  possession  of  all  those  virtues,  which,  in  the 
weakness  of  natural  vanity,  we  are  fond  of  ascribing  to  our 
selves.  There  were  few  excellencies  on  which  we  grounded 
our  own  national  pride,  that  we  were  disposed  to  deny  them. 
It  would  have  been  difficult  to  ascribe  different  results  to 
causes  whose  influence  was  thought  to  be  felt  by  the  two  na 
tions  in  common.  They  were  brave,  for  they  were  free, 
they  were  virtuous,  for  they  were  religious;  and  they  were 
religious,  because  we  worshipoed  before  the  same  altars.  In 


312  NOTES. 

our  eyes,  there  was  perfection  in  their  literature  and  arts,  for 
if  it  did  not  exist  there,  it  was  a  stranger  to  us,  since  we 
knew  no  other.  In  short,  as  our  triumph  was  indisputable, 
we  could  afford  to  forget  the  recent  feud,  and  we  were  fond 
of  cherishing  the  present  amity,  since,  with  all  the  feelings  of 
a  reading  and  highly  civilized  people,  we  delighted  in  the 
glory  of  our  fathers.  Had  we  churlishly  denied  our  connexion 
with  that  of  England,  we  should  have  left  ourselves  without 
an  ancestry.  So  very  deeply  was  this  sentiment  engrafted  in 
our  opinions,  it  might  almost  be  said  in  our  natures,  that,  with 
some  exceptions  that  grew  out  of  the  opposition  of  internal 
politics,  most  of  our  sympathies  were  with  the  English,  in  the 
fierce  struggle  that  soon  agitated  Christendom.  We  exulted 
in  her  successes  over  the  arms  of  a  people  who  had  lent  us 
their  treasure,  and  shed  the  blood  of  their  brave  in  the  quarrel 
which  gave  us  a  rank  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  A 
momentary  and  heedless  enthusiasm,  which  manifested  itself 
in  favour  of  the  French  at  the  commencement  of  their  revo 
lution,  had  been  checked  in  the  government  by  the  steadiness 
of  Washington,  and  had  early  been  suppressed  in  the  people, 
by  the  excesses  into  which  the  leaders  of  that  revolution  suf 
fered  themselves  to  be  hurried.  Without  reflecting  how  much 
of  the  merit  of  evidence  must  depend  on  the  character  of  indi 
viduals,  we  gave  credit  to  the  official  documents  of  England, 
to  the  prejudice  of  all  others ;  and,  removed  ourselves  from 
the  necessity  of  political  deception,  or  of  matured  misrepre 
sentation,  we  refused  to  believe  it  could  exist  in  a  people  who 
affirmed  what  they  had  to  promulge,  not  only  in  our  language 
but  with  all  those  forms  with  which  we  had  ourselves  so  long 
been  accustomed  to  add  solemnity  and  weight  to  the  truth. 
Destitute  of  a  literature  of  our  own,  but  rich  in  the  possession 
of  that  which  we  derived  from  our  ancestors,  we  were  con 
tent  to  submit  our  minds  to  the  continued  domination  of  wri 
ters,  on  whom  it  was  believed  that  the  mantle  of  Elijah  had 
rested  in  virtue  of  their  birth-right.  So  far  as  Europe  was 
concerned,  for  many  years  after  the  peace  of  1783,  the  great 
mass  of  the  American  people  saw  with  English  eyes,  and 
judged  with  English  prejudices.  This  was  a  fearful  position 
to  be  occupied  by  a  nation  whose  policy  is  so  greatly  con 
trolled  by  tne  influence  of  public  opinion.  It  was  one  which 
could  not  peacefully  continue,  in  the  actual  condition  of  the 
world. 

"  To  me  the  gloomy  period  of  1792  is  almost  a  matter  of 
history.  A  mild  and  reflecting  people,  who,  in  their  own  case, 
had  known  so  well  how  to  temper  resistance  to  oppression, 
could  not  long  sympathize  in  the  movements  of  men  who 


NOTES.  313 

affected  to  think  that  liberty  could  only  be  propitiated  by  ob 
lations  of  innocent  blood.  Particular  services  to  ourselves 
were  forgotten  in  the  general  offences  against  justice  and 
humanity.  I  have  heard  that  the  brief  ardour  which  had 
been  excited  in  favour  of  the  French  was  succeeded  by  the 
coldness  of  disappointment.  It  is  more  than  probable  that 
the  reaction  hastened  the  renewal  of  those  ancient  attach 
ments  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and  which  certainly  existed, 
in  the  greatest  force,  at  the  time  to  which  my  personal  recol 
lections  distinctly  extend. 

"  Although  the  struggles  of  domestic  politics  had,  in  some 
measure,  created  a  sort  of  opposition  to  English  supremacy, 
it  was  altogether  too  feeble  to  shake  the  deep-rooted  and 
confiding  faith  of  the  nation.  There  was  so  much  that  was 
true, blended  with  a  great  deal  that  was  ideal  in  our  admira 
tion  of  English  character,  and,  more  than  all,  there  was  so 
much  which,  admirable  or  not,  resembled  ourselves,  that  it 
was  not  easy  to  depreciate  its  merits.  Detractors  were  heard, 
it  is  true ;  but  they  either  declaimed  with  vulgar  coarseness, 
or  uttered  their  opinions  so  feebly,  as  to  leave  reasonable 
doubts  of  their  own  sincerity.  This  extraordinary  mental 
bondage  continued,  with  no  very  important  interruption,  dur 
ing  the  first  ten  years  of  the  present  century.  The  amicable 
feelings  of  the  nation  had,  indeed,  suffered  some  violent  shocks 
by  the  operation  of  the  foreign  policy  of  Great  Britain,  the 
effects  of  which  were  as  unceasingly  proclaimed  by  one  po 
litical  party  of  our  country,  as  were  those  of  the  decrees  of 
Napoleon  by  the  other.  But  the  hostility  they  created  was 
directed  rather  to  the  English  ministry  than  to  the  nation. 
It  is  no  small  evidence  of  the  extent  of  our  prejudice,  that, 
while  the  maritime  condemnations  of  the  English,  though 
conducted  with  all  the  pomp  of  gown  and  wig,  were  mainly 
imputed  to  the  cupidity  of  individuals,  those  of  Napoleon, 
which  were  effected  by  a  nod  of  his  head  and  the  agency  of 
a  few  gens  d'armes,  were,  with  as  little  hesitation,  ascribed 
to  the  established  perfidy  of  the  French  character!  Had  not 
England  herself  disturbed  this  mental  ascendancy,  I  do  not 
see  any  plausible  reason  why  it  might  not  have  continued  to 
the  present  hour.  The  jealousy  of  a  sensitive  rivalry,  how 
ever,  began  to  manifest  itself  prematurely ;  and  as  an  unrea 
sonable  desire  of  exercising,  unduly,  her  political  dominion 
over  the  colonies  precipitated  a  separation  of  the  two  coun 
tries,  so  did  her  extreme  sensitiveness  on  the  subject  of  profit 
hasten  a  mental  emancipation  that  might  easily  have  been 
deferred,  until  at  least  the  numbers  and  importance  of  the 
American  people  had  borne  them  beyond  the  possibility  of 
Ee 


314  NOTES. 

foreign  influence.  I  think  that  this  jealousy  may  be  divided 
into  two  classes — that  of  calculation,  and  that  of  feeling-. 
The  quick-sighted  and  practised  merchants  of  England  were 
not  slow  to  discover  that  there  was  reason  to  apprehend  a 
rival  in  a  nation  who  possessed,  in  addition  to  all  their  he 
reditary  aptitude  and  knowledge,  such  rare,  natural,  commer 
cial  advantages.  Though  not  fond  of  admitting  the  fact,  they 
could  not  deny,  even  to  themselves,  that  the  very  absence  of 
personal  restraint,  which,  by  giving  energy  and  interest  to 
the  efforts  of  individuals,  had  accumulated  the  commercial 
grandeur  of  their  own  empire,  was  possessed  by  the  infant 
republics  to  a  degree  that  was  hitherto  unknown  in  the  annals 
of  the  civilized  world.  The  politicians  of  England  found 
leisure,  even  amid  the  cares  of  their  great  European  strug 
gle,  to  turn  their  attention  to  a  subject  that  is  ever  considered 
by  her  statesmen  with  the  watchfulness  with  which  we  re 
gard  the  most  remote  assaults  on  the  materials  of  our  ex 
istence.  Had  it  not  been  their  present  interests  to  retain  us 
as  customers,  it  is  probable  that  the  efforts  of  the  English 
ministry  to  curtail  our  growing  prosperity,  would  have  been 
far  more  decisive  and  manifest.  It  is  thought,  too,  that  for  a 
long  time  they  were  deluded  with  the  futile  hope  of  seeing 
our  growing  power  weakened  by  a  dissolution  of  the  confed 
eracy  ;  a  movement  that  would  have  left  us  with  all  our  wants, 
and  with  a  lessened  ability  to  furnish  them  with  a  domestic 
supply.  There  was,  also,  a  period  of  political  alarm  when 
the  aristocracy  of  England  trembled  for  its  ascendancy.  The 
spectacle  of  a  democratic  government,  existing  on  an  ex 
tended  scale,  could  not,  hi  such  a  crisis,  find  favour  in  their 
eyes.  The  greater  its  success,  the  greater  was  its  offence 
against  those  prophetic  opinions  which  had  early  predicted 
its  fall.  Though  a  large  proportion,  even  of  the  hereditary 
counsellors  of  England,  were  exclusively  occupied  with  the 
more  momentous  concerns  of  the  hour,  or  wilfully  shut  their 
eyes  on  a  perspective  which  presented  so  few  objects  of  grat 
ification,  some  there  were  too  sagacious  and  too  reasoning 
not  to  see  that  the  diffusion  of  intelligence,  to  which  they 
owed  their  own  national  supremacy,  was  in  danger  of  being 
exceeded,  and  that  too  from  a  quarter  of  the  world  which  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  regard  with  the  complacency  of  ac 
knowledged  superiors.  Still,  circumstances  beyond  their 
control  admitted  of  no  measures  likely  to  retard  the  event 
they  deprecated.  The  States  of  America  were  therefore  kept 
as  much  as  possible  out  of  view,  or  were  regarded  with  an 
indifference  in  which  there  was  much  more  of  affectation  than 
of  reality.  In  this  state  of  things,  a  deep,  settled  aversion  to 


NOTES.  315 

America  grew  in  the  minds  of  that  portion  of  the  English 
community  who  possessed  sufficient  knowledge  to  be  aware 
of  her  existence  at  all,  or  who  did  not  believe  us  a  people  too 
insignificant  for  attention.  If  there  were  any  exceptions  to 
this  rule,  they  were  no  more  than  the  members  of  a  class  of 
philanthropists  which,  unhappily,  bears,  in  all  countries,  too 
limited  a  proportion  to  the  mass  of  mankind.  In  a  nation 
where  pens  are  so  active,  there  is  but  a  brief  interval  between 
the  conception  of  an  idea  and  its  publication.  By  referring 
to  the  daily  and  periodical  journals  of  the  country,  you  will 
find  that  whenever  it  was  thought  necessary  to  mention 
America,  it  was  invariably  done  in  terms  of  disparagement 
and  reproach.  It  is  even  said  that  the  government  of  an  em 
pire  that  boasts  itself  to  be  the  most  enlightened  and  mag 
nanimous  in  the  world,  not  only  employed  mercenary  pens  to 
vituperate,  in  periodical  journals  of  the  most  pretending 
character,  a  people  they  affected  to  despise,  but  that  it 
sought  itinerant  circulators  of  calumny,  who  journeyed,  or 
pretended  to  journey  through  our  States,  in  order  to  discover 
and  to  expose  the  nakedness  of  the  land.  The  latter  circum 
stance  I  am  inclined  to  discredit,  for  I  cannot  think  that  any 
English  ministry  would  have  had  the  weakness  to  bestow 
their  money  where  there  was  so  little  talent  to  invite  reward. 
Of  the  former  I  shall  say  no  more  than  that  it  is  implicitly 
believed  by  many  enlightened  men  in  America,  and  that  if  it 
be  not  true,  it  is  unfortunate  that  more  care  had  not  been 
taken  to  avoid  the  grounds  of  a  suspicion  that  seems  so 
plausible.  Here,  then,  you  have  the  remarkable  spectacle 
of  two  people  of  a  common  origin,  and  possessing,  in  common, 
so  many  of  the  governing  principles  which  decide  character 
and  control  policy,  acted  on  by  directly  contrary  influences. 
While  the  American  was  fondly,  and,  one  might  say,  blindly 
clinging  to  his  ancient  attachments,  his  advances  were  met 
by  jealousy,  or  repelled  by  contempt.  Whatever  may  be  the 
future  consequences  of  this  unnatural  repulse,  America  has 
no  reason  to  kment  its  occurrence.  It  has  already  relieved 
her  from  the  thraldom  of  mental  bondage.  So  generally  and 
eo  forcibly  is  this  truth  felt,  that  while  the  war  of '76  is  called 
the  war  of  the  revolution,  that  of  '12  is  emphatically  termed 
the  war  of  independence.  It  is  beyond  a  doubt  that,  as  there 
were  in  America  men  of  spirits  too  lofty,  and  of  an  intelli 
gence  too  enlightened  not  to  have  rebelled  against  the  besot 
ted  dependence  of  their  countrymen  on  foreign  opinion,  so 
there  were  in  England  philanthropists  too  pure  and  too  gene 
rous  not  to  rejoice  in  any  human  prosperity.  But  these  were 
no  more  than  exceptions  to  those  general  rules  which  marked 


316  NOTES. 

the  feelings  and  opinions  of  the  two  nations,  so  far  as  those 
of  England  were  at  all  active  in  the  matter.  I  say  active, 
for  it  is  certain  that,  even  to  this  hour,  the  great  majority  of 
that  nation  neither  think  nor  care  in  the  least  ahout  a  people 
so  remote,  and  who  have  never  acted  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  struggles  of  their  own  hemisphere.  Indeed,  the  Amer 
ican,  conscious  of  the  possession  of  physical  advantages  \\  hich 
are  beyond  most  of  the  chances  of  worldly  vicissitudes,  and 
firm  in  the  belief  that  he  enjoys  a  hio-her  state  of  moral  ex 
istence  than  any  other  people  whatever,  little  suspects,  even 
now,  how  completely  his  country  is  without  the  pale  of  Euro 
pean  thought.  A  vigorous  and  intellectual  population  of 
twelve  millions  must  ever  force  itself  on  the  notice  of  states 
men;  but,  could  the  fact  be  ascertained,  I  do  believe  it  would 
be  found  that  three  out  of  four  of  the  inhabitants  of  Europe 
not  only  believe  we  are  a  people  of  barbarous  manners,  but 
that  we  have,  to  say  the  least,  but  'doubtful  claims  to  be  com 
puted  among  the  descendants  of  Japhet  at  all.  The  proofs 
of  this  opinion  have  often  occurred  to  me  during  my  travels ; 

nor  are  you,  my  dear ,  the  only  European  of  education, 

by  a  dozen,  who  has  asked  me  if  my  flaxen  hair  and  blue  eyes 
were  not  deemed  a  sort  of  physical  anomaly  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic ! 

"  Mr.  Hodgson  says,  he  was  assured  by  an  intelligent 
American,  that  had  a  man,  like  Wilberforce,  travelled  among 
us,  and  given  to  the  world  a  fair  and  honest  account  of  the 
state  of  society  he  saw,  the  war  of  1812  would  have  been 
averted.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  periodical 
writers  of  England  dipt  their  pens  too  deep  in  gall.  They 
overacted  their  parts,  and  the  consequence  must  fall  whero  it 
may.  I  can  only  say,  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who 
not  only  loves,  but,  strange  as  you  may  think  it,  who  gloriea 
in  his  country,  that  if  such  were  the  power  of  that  excellent 
friend  of  humanity,  I  rejoice  he  did  not  exert  it.  Though  no 
admirer  of  the  wisdom  in  which  that  war  was  conceive^,  nor 
of  the  skill  with  which  it  was  conducted,  I  should  be  blind  to 
palpable  truths,  did  I  not  see  that  it  has  left  my  country  in 
the  occupancy  of  a  station  more  worthy  of  her  real  power 
and  true  character,  than  the  equivocal  condition  from  which 
she  emerged. 

"  With  my  opinions,  then,  of  the  character  of  most  of  the 
works  which  form  your  travelling  library,  you  cannot  be  sur 
prised  that  I  had  so  little  desire  to  read  them.  The  contenta 
of  most  of  them,  however,  are  already  known  to  me.  It 
would  be  vain  to  deny  that  they  contain  many  disagreeable 
truths,  for  it  would  be  arrogating  to  ourselves  a  perfection 


NOTES.  317 

which  exists  nowhere,  to  say  that  a  traveller  of  ordinary  ca 
pacity,  who  journeys  with  a  view  to  find  fault,  should  be 
baffled  of  his  object  in  the  States  of  America,  alone.  Still, 
in  most  of  the  cases  where  I  am  willing  to  believe  there  did 
exist,  on  the  part  of  the  writers,  a  fair  proportion  of  honest 
intention,  there  was  so  much  utter  incapacity  to  judge  of  a 
state  of  society  to  which  they  were  worse  than  strangers, 
that  their  opinions  may  safely  be  considered  little  better  than 
worthless.  It  is  often  said  that  we  are  the  subjects  of  a 
peculiarly  exacting  national  vanity,  and  that  nothing  short  of 
eulogies  will  ever  meet  with  a  favourable  reception  among 
us.  The  good  opinion  which  nations  entertain  of  themselves, 
is  far  from  being  limited  to  America,  though  it  is  not  difficult 
to  understand  that  our  pretensions  should  be  particularly 
offensive  to  a  people,  who  have  so  long  claimed  an  exclusive 
right  to  those  very  properties  on  which  we  ground  our  pride. 
This  vanity  is  imputed  to  us,  however,  chiefly  because  it  is 
thought  that,  in  contemplating  the  future,  expectation  out 
runs  probability  too  far.  If  it  be  meant  that  the  people  of 
the  United  States  anticipate  more  for  their  country  than  what 
reason  and  experience  will  justify,  I  do  not  believe  it.  On 
the  contrary,  I  think  that  nine  out  of  ten  of  mankind,  there, 
as  elsewhere,  fail  in  the  ability  to  estimate  the  probable,  and 
speedy  importance  too,  of  our  country  in  the  scale  of  nations. 
Your  author,  Mr.  Hodgson,  after  a  tolerably  close  inspection 
of  our  means,  frankly  admits,  that,  were  he  an  American,  his 
hopes  would  greatly  outstrip  those  of  the  natives  with  whom 
he  conversed.  But,  if  it  be  meant  that  the  American  often 
fails  in  manner,  when  he  is  disposed  to  draw  a  comparison 
between  the  prospects  of  his  own  country,  and  those  of  other 
people,  I  think  nothing  is  more  probable.  It  is  quite  evident, 
that  the  greater  the  truth  of  these  predictions,  the  heavier  is 
the  offence  against  the  comity  of  intercourse.  A  large  ma 
jority  of  those  whose  voices  are  loudest  on  this  theme,  are 
men  of  a  class  that,  in  other  nations,  would  either  be  too 
ignorant  to  indulge  in  any  rational  speculations  on  the  future 
at  all,  or  too  much  engaged  in  providing  for  the  wants  of  the 
hour,  to  waste  their  breath  on  a  subject  that  did  not  teem 
with  instant  profit.  But,  in  what  degree  is  this  offence  pecu 
liar  to  Americans,  except  as  hope  is  more  grateful  than  recol 
lection  ?  I  have  fifty  times  listened  to  the  most  self-compla 
cent  and  sweeping  claims  to  national  superiority,  that  were 
uttered  by  Englishmen,  and  by  Englishmen  of  rank,  too,  who 
should  at  least  have  had  the  taste  to  conceal  their  exultation 
in  the  presence  of  a  foreigner.  I  apprehend  that  we  are 
einned  against  quite  as  much  as  we  sin  in  this  particular.  No 
Ee2 


318  NOTES. 

gentleman  can  deny  that  the  coarse  demands  of  general  su 
periority  are  alike  offensive  to  taste  and  breeding.  They 
have  created  a  disgust  in  the  minds  of  the  more  intelligent 
classes,  who  often,  in  the  spirit  of  distaste,  oppose  the  very 
anticipations  in  which  they  fondly  confide,  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  they  find  them  oppressive  by  the  freedom  with  which 
they  are  urged.  But  vanity  is  the  foible  of  age  in  communi 
ties,  as  it  is  of  youth  in  individuals.  We  have  not  yet  reached 
that  period  of  national  dotage.  There  is  little  in  the  past, 
however,  of  which  England  can  fairly  boast,  in  which  Amer 
ica  may  not  claim  to  participate.  The  arms  of  our  ancestors 
were  wielded  in  her  most  vaunted  fields;  the  geniuses  of 
Shakspeare  and  Milton  were  awakened  in  the  bosom  of  a  so 
ciety  from  which  we  received  our  impressions,  and  if  liberty 
and  the  law  have  been  transmitted  to  us  from  the  days  of 
Hampden  and  Bacon,  we  have  not  received  them  as  boons, 
but  taken  them  as  the  portions  of  a  birthright.  Glorious  and 
ample  as  has  been  our  heritage,  we  challenge  the  keen-eyed 
and  ready  criticism  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  to  decide  whether 
we  have  imitated  the  example  of  the  prodigal  son.  And  yet, 
if  it  be  permitted  to  a  people,  to  value  themselves  on  any 
thing,  it  is  surely  more  reasonable  to  exult  in  the  cheering 
prospects  of  a  probable  future,  than  to  turn  their  eyes  through 
the  perspective  of  recollections,  in  quest  of  a  sickly  renown 
from  the  past.  The  greatness  of  the  ancestor  may,  and  does 
often,  prove  a  reproach  to  him  who  would  claim  a  vain  dis 
tinction  from  circumstances  that  he  could  not  have  controlled, 
while  he  who  looks  ahead,  may  justly  point  with  pride  to  the 
foundations  of  glory  which  his  own  hand  has  laid. 

"  I  have  said  that  feeling,  no  less  than  calculation,  formed 
cue  of  the  causes  of  the  calumny  England  has  undeniably 
heaped  upon  America.  The  operation  of  this  dislike  is  as 
various  and  characteristic,  as  were  the  pursuits  and  humours 
of  its  subjects.  It  was  an  offence  against  the  geographical 
sovereignty,  which  marks  England  for  the  seat  ot  empire, 
to  the  prejudice  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Wales,  to  presume 
to  renounce  her  dominion  at  all.  It  was  and  is,  a  constant 
offence  to  aristocracy  every  where,  to  exhibit  an  instance  of 
a  prosperous  and  happy  democracy.  It  was  a  bitter  offence 
against  the  hierarchical  establishment,  to  demonstrate  that 
religion  and  order,  and  morals,  could  exist  without  its  aid ; 
and  it  was  an  offence  to  the  pride  of  that  numerous  class, 
who  exulted  in  being  the  bravest,  because  the  freest  people 
of  the  earth,  to  argue  at  the  bayonet's  point,  that  there  was 
another  quite  as  brave,  who  was  determined  to  be  a  little 
more  free.  To  the  American,  the  different  expedients  which 


NOTES.  319 

have  been  adopted  to  disprove,  or  to  undervalue  these  advan 
tages,  are  not  without  amusement.  Our  government  has 
been  termed  imbecile,  for  no  better  reason  than  that  it  did 
not  possess  the  power  to  suppress  evils  which  have  no  ex 
istence  among  us,  though  it  does  possess  the  inestimable 
power  of  adapting  itself  to  circumstances,  without  endanger 
ing  its  foundations  by  the  change.  Our  manners  have  been 
derided,  for  the  simple  cause  that  they  differed,  and  that  too, 
perhaps,  less  than  might  be  wished,  from  their  own,  while 
their  own  are  far  from  being  a  model  to  the  rest  of  Europe. 
Our  order  has  been  denied,  though  it  is  rarely  disturbed,  ex 
cept  by  the  Sieves  of  her  own  disciplined  system,  and  our  re 
ligion  scoffed  at,  though,  I  think,  a  reference  to  the  use  of 
figures  would  demonstrate  that  while  (since  the  separation) 
their  peculiar  faith  has  been  on  a  comparative  decrease  among 
themselves,  in  consequence  of  the  opposition  created  by  the 
establishment,  it  has,  with  us,  been  on  a  comparative  increase, 
because  men  seldom  fail  to  confess  the  merits  of  that  which 
is  not  too  violently  obtruded  on  their  notice. 

"  But,  a  more  general  and  far  safer  method  of  disposing  of 
the  question  of  our  unworthiness,  is  by  keeping  America  en 
tirely  out  of  view.  To  this  hour,  and  with  all  the  facts 
known  to  the  world,  one  reads  every  day,  in  works  and  jour 
nals  of  talent  and  reputation,  that  England  is  the  freest 
among  the  nations !  You  may  see  her  claims  to  philanthropy 
supported  by  the  fact,  that  she  was  the  first  to  destroy  the 
traffic  in  human  flesh ;  and  her  distinguished  statesmen  have 
not  hesitated  to  affirm,  in  the  face  of  Europe,  that  to  her  is 
the  southern  moiety  of  our  hemisphere  indebted,  for  the  ori 
ginal  acknowledgment  of  its  national  existence !  It  is  easy  to 
predict  that  this  is  a  manner  of  disposing  of  things,  which  may 
be  practised  with  more  facility  in  the  year  1825,  than  in  the 
year  1850. 

"  As  respects  the  work  of  Mr.  Hodgson,  I  have  read  it, 
with  both  pain  and  pleasure.  There  is  satisfaction  at  all 
times,  in  dwelling  on  the  opinions,  though  they  may  prove 
erroneous,  of  a  discreet  and  honest  man.  As  he  evidently 
seeks  the  truth,  with  a  desire  of  proclaiming  it,  his  very  errors 
are  entitled  to  be  treated  with  respect.  Nothing,  for  instance, 
however,  is  more  untrue,  than  to  say  that  service  in  the  revo 
lution  forms  the  chief,  or  even  a  very  material  claim  to  dis 
tinction,  in  our  ordinary  intercourse.  Society,  in  America,  is 
constituted  precisely  as  in  every  other  Christian  country, 
breeding,  education,  family  alliances,  and  wealth,  exerting 
most  of  their  customary  influences.  It  is  more  true,  cer 
tainly,  as  to  political  distinction,  though  cases  abound  of 


320  NOTES. 

individuals  who  even  opposed  the  war  of  '76,  but  who  have 
not  heen  thought  unworthy  of  popular  favour  by  their  placa 
ble  countrymen.  He  has  been  thrown,  by  accident,  into  a 
highly  respectable  circle  of  ancient  soldiers,  whom  he  has 
found  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  their  native  and  merited  con 
sideration,  and  he  has  mistaken  the  particular  instance  for  a 
general  rule.  He  has  not,  at  least,  like  most  of  those  who 
went  before  him,  passed  wilfully  over  the  abundance  of  order, 
morals,  religion,  and  intelligence  which  eminently  distin 
guishes  the  bosom  of  our  community,  to  seek  exceptions  in 
the  skirts  of  society,  which  might  serve  to  amus«  at  home 
by  their  freshness,  or  to  gratify  the  spleen  of  our  haters  by 
their  deformities. 

"  But  there  are  deep  sources  of  pain  in  finding,  by  the  con 
fessions  of  this  very  writer,  how  much  more  inveterate  have 
been  the  prejudices  of  his  nation,  than  even  one  as  familiar 
with  the  subject  as  a  traveller  could  have  believed.  To  nine 
millions  of  the  population  of  America,  it  will  appear  incred 
ible,  that  England  has  doubted,  nay,  still  doubts,  whether 
religion  or  religious  instruction  exists  among  them  I  I  write 
under  the  observation  of  four  visits  to  England,  and  an  exten 
sive  acquaintance  with  the  habits  of  my  own  country,  whea 
I  affirm,  that  religion,  to  say  the  least,  is  as  much  inculcated, 
and  its  prescriptions  as  rigidly  observed,  in  all  the  northern 
and  middle,  and  some  of  the  southern  States  of  America,  as 
in  the  most  favoured  quarters  of  England.  It  is  lamentable 
that  an  error  so  injurious  in  its  consequences,  so  false  and  so 
uncharitable  in  its  nature,  should  have  an  existence  among 
men  who  evidently  wish  to  believe  the  best.  Still,  while  as  a 
man,  I  lament  this  miserable  error,  as  an  American,  I  do  not 
fear  the  consequences.  Wilful  ignorance  is  sure  to  entail  its 
punishment.  It  has  been  the  misfortune  of  England  to  re 
main  in  ignorance  of  America,  and  of  American  character, 
from  the  day  when  the  pilgrims  first  touched  the  rock  of  Ply 
mouth  to  the  present  hour.  She  banished  our  ancestors  from 
her  bosom,  because  they  would  not  submit  to  an  oppression 
against  which  she  herself  has  since  revolted.  She  cumbered 
our  infant  efforts  with  her  vicious  legislation,  and  drove  us  to 
a  premature  majority.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  she 
will  have  us,  in  our  strength,  as  a  friend  or  an  enemy.  The 
time  for  her  election  is  getting  short,  and  more  may  hang  oc 
the  issue  than  millions,  who  exult  in  their  present  power,  are 
willing  to  believe.  The  steady,  deluded  and  confiding  friend 
we  once  were,  it  is  too  late  to  expect.  But  a  nation  which 
feels  no  pressure,  and  which  is  conscious  of  no  unworthiness, 
is  neither  vindictive  nor  obdurate.  We  may  be  disposed  to 


NOTES.  321 

forgive,  though  it  will  be  hard  indeed  to  forget.  Even  the 
moderated  and  cautious  tone,  which  is  certainly  beginning  to 
prevail  among  her  politicians  and  writers,  is  not  extended  to 
the  youthful  Hercules  with  the  grace  that  it  might  have  been 
offered  to  the  infant  in  his  cradle.  We  know  as  well  as  her 
self,  that  the  next  duplication  of  our  numbers  will  raise  us  to 
her  own  level.  Her  dominion  over  our  minds  could  not  have 
continued,  it  is  true,  after  we  had  obtained  a  literature  of  our 
own ;  still  the  hold  might  have  been  relinquished  in  amity, 
and  not  cast  from  her  in  disdain.  But  a  generation  has  grown 
to  maturity  during  the  prevalence  of  a  miserable  infatuation. 
What  a  noble  promise  for  the  future  has  England  not  jeop 
arded  !  The  decline  of  empires,  though  more  tardy,  is  not 
less  certain  th^n  that  of  man.  The  wane  of  the  British  do 
minion  might  have  been  distinguished  by  features  that  the 
world  has  never  yet  witnessed.  Her  language,  her  institu 
tions,  and  her  distinctive  opinions  are  spread  wherever  enter 
prise  has  penetrated.  Colonization,  under  her  reign,  has 
been  fruitful  and  prosperous  beyond  a  parallel.  Mighty  na 
tions  are  rising  around  her,  as  generations  succeed  genera 
tions  in  the  more  familiar  descent'  of  families.  Wisdom 
might  prescribe  a  course  which  would  have  secured  a  devoted 
friend  in  every  dependant  as  it  was  released  from  the  do 
minion  of  the  parent.  How  far  that  course  has  been  pursued 
in  respect  to  us,  the  past  and  the  present  time  sufficiently 
show.  Why  is  Russia  already  occupying  that  place  in  Amer 
ican  politics  which  England  should  have  nobly  filled  ?  Why 
did  America  choose  England  for  her  foe,  when  equal  cause 
of  war  was  given  by  France,  and  when  the  former  was  cer 
tainly  most  able  to  do  her  harm  ?  These  are  questions  easily 
answered  by  any  man  conversant  with  the  state  of  the  public 
mind  in  our  action ;  but  I  shall  leave  you  to  make  your  own 
observations. 

"  I  have  treated  this  matter  gravely;  for  to  me  it  always 
seems  a  subject  fraught  with  the  gravest  consequences.  The 
day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  conflicting  interests  of  the 
two  nations  shall  receive  support  from  equal  power.  Whether 
the  struggle  is  to  be  maintained  by  the  ordinary  rivalry  of 
enterprise  and  industry,  or  by  the  fiercer  conflict  of  arms, 
depends  greatly  on  the  temper  of  America.  To  us  the  ques 
tion  is  purely  one  of  time.  The  result  may  be  retarded ;  but 
he  is  deplorably  ignorant  of  our  character,  of  our  resources, 
and  of  our  high  intentions,  who  believes  it  can  ever  be  avert 
ed.  That  Almighty  Being  who  holds  the  destinies  of  nations 
in  his  hands,  must  change  the  ordinary  direction  of  his  own 
great  laws,  or  the  American  population  will  stand  at  the 


322  NOTES. 

head  of  civilized  nations,  long1  ere  the  close  of  this  century, 
It  is  natural  that  they  whc,  falsely  identify  individual  happi- 
ness  with  national  power,  i  hould  rack  their  ingenuity  in  quest 
of  arguments  that  may  refute  omens  that  seem  so  unpropi- 
tious.  The  most  common,  because,  in  truth,  the  only  plausi 
ble  anticipation  is,  that  our  confederation  will  dissolve.  It  is 
remarkable  that  England,  with  her  party-coloured  empire, 
Austria,  Prussia,  Belgium,  Sweden,  and  even  our  constant 
friend  the  Russ,  should  shut  their  eyes  to  the  fragments  of 
nations  that  compose  their  several  powers,  and  complacently 
predict,  that  we,  a  people  of  common  origin,  of  common 
opinions,  of  identified  interests,  and  of  perfectly  equal  rights, 
should  alone  be  subject  to  the  influence  of  an  unnatural 
desire  to  separate.  The  people  of  France  itself  are  not  so 
thoroughly  amalgamated  as  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
The  divisions  of  Catholics  and  Protestants  alone,  kept  alive 
as  they  are  throughout  most  of  Europe,  are  a  greater  source 
of  hostile  feeling  than  all  our  causes  of  difference  united. 
The  fact  is,  that  you  are  accustomed  to  consider  the  strong 
arm  as  the  only  bond  of  political  union ;  and  Europe  has  not 
yet  had  an  opportunity  of  learning  that  the  most  durable  gov 
ernment  is  that  which  makes  it  the  interest  of  every  citizen 
to  yield  it  cheerful  support.  I  defy  the  experience  of  the 
world  to  bring  a  parallel  case  of  submission  to  established 
government,  equal  to  that  manifested  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  to  their  own  restrictive  laws — measures  of 
doubtful  policy,  and  of  nearly  fatal  effects,  not  to  individuals 
alone,  but  to  whole  communities — and  to  communities  too, 
that  possessed  all  the  organized  means  of  separate  govern 
ments  completely  within  the  reach  of  their  hands.  That 
which  constitutes  our  weakness  in  European  eyes,  we  know 
to  constitute  our  unconquerable  strength.  The  bayonets  of 
England  could  not  subdue  us,  an  infant,  impoverished,  scatter 
ed,  and  peaceful  people ;  but  could  she  have  yielded  a  moiety 
of  the  rights  we  now  enjoy,  we  might  have  been  persuaded, 
for  a  time  longer,  that  our  interests  tied  us  to  a  nation  in  the 
other  hemisphere.  And,  after  all,  admitting  that  we  shall 
separate,  the  case,  with  respect  to  England,  will  not  be  greatly 
altered.  Instead  of  having  one  mighty  rival  in  industry  and 
enterprise,  she  will  have  two.  The  issue  will  be  protracted, 
but  not  averted.  The  main  question  is,  whether  that  rivalry 
shall  consist  in  manful,  honourable,  and  amicable  efforts,  or 
in  bitter,  vindictive,  heartless  warfare.  Every  good  man  will 
wish  the  former,  but  every  wise  man  must  see  how  great  is 
the  danger  of  the  latter.  More  than  ordinary  prudence  ia 
necessary  to  temper  a  struggle  between  nations,  which,  by 


NOTES.  323 

speaking  a  common  language,  so  thoroughly  understand  each 
other's  taunts  and  revilings.  I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that 
the  American,  under  a  consciousness  of  similar  innovations 
on  his  pride  and  his  privileges,  would  be  either  more  wise  or 
more  generous,  than  the  Englishman  has  proved :  but  I  do 
say,  that  it  behoves  the  discreet  and  moderate  of  both  nations 
to  take  heed,  lest  the  growing  dislike  should  degenerate  into 
a  feeling  that  may  prove  discreditable  to  human  nature. 
There  is,  however,  much  mawkish  philanthropy  uttered  on 
this  subject.  For  my  own  part,  I  believe  the  fault  of  Amer 
ica  has  been  that  of  a  too  cautious  forbearance.  Had  we 
earlier  spoken  in  the  open  and  manly  tone  that  becomes  us, 
much  of  the  miserable  recrimination  that  I  fear  is  in  store 
would  have  been  avoided.  Still,  we  begin  to  feel,  that  while 
England  has  nearly  exhausted  her  darts,  our  own  quiver  is 
full.  She  forgets  that,  when  we  achieved  our  independence, 
we  conquered  an  equal  right  to  the  language ;  and  she  ought 
not  to  be  surprised  if  we  should  sometimes  descend  to  adopt 
her  own  mode  of  using  it.  No  doubt  vulgar  and  impotei-t 
minds  have  already  commenced  the  pitiful  task  of  recrimina 
tion  :  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  men  of  even  higher  stamp 
have  been  provoked  to  a  forgetfulness  of  their  self-respect,  by 
the  unceasing  taunts  and  revilings  of  our  unwearied  abusers ; 
but  if  the  latter  think  that  they  have  yet  felt  the  force  of  our 
retorts,  they  have  only  to  continue  in  their  career  to  be  soon 
convinced  of  their  error.  If  England  believes  she  is  not  ob 
noxious  to  the  attacks  of  sarcasm,  it  is  not  the  least  of  her 
mistakes ;  and  nothing  but  occasion  is  needed  to  convince  her 
that  no  one  can  apply  it,  in  her  case,  with  half  the  malignant 
power  of  those  very  people  she  affects  to  despise, 

"At  present,  the  feeling  in  America,  in  respect  to  England, 
is  rather  that  of  indifference,  than  of  dislike.  We  certainly 
do  not  worship  her  government ;  if  we  had,  we  should  prob 
ably  have  adopted  it ;  but  we  are  far  from  being  so  unreason 
able  as  to  require  that  she  should  like  our  own.  I  know  no 
people  that  trouble  themselves  less  about  the  political  concerns 
of  other  nations  than  my  countrymen.  It  may  be  vanity,  but 
they  think  they  have  little  to  learn,  in  this  particular,  except 
of  themselves.  There  is,  notwithstanding,  one  great  and 
saying  quality,  which,  if  W3  are  wrong,  should  plead  some 
thing  in  extenuation  of  our  self-delusion;  we  are  neither 
ashamed  nor  afraid  to  change. 

"  When  an  Englishman  tells  us  of  our  common  descent, 
of  the  ideal  homage  we  should  both  pay  to  the  land  and  in 
stitutions  of  our  ancestors,  he  is  heard  with  cold  and  incred 
ulous  ears ;  we  are  no  worshippers  of  stocks  and  stones.  A 


324  NOTES. 

little  extension  of  his  principle  would  carry  us  into  the  ages 
of  monkish  misrule,  or  leave  us  in  the  plains  of  Saxony. 
But  when  an  Englishman  speaks  to  us  of  those  moderated 
and  chastened  principles  which  characterize  our  religion,  and 
refers  to  that  mighty  Spirit  which  inculcates  the  obligations 
of  universal  charity,  he  approaches  by  an  avenue  that  is  open 
to  all,  and  which  1  pray  God  may  never  be  closed  against 
nim,  or  any  other  of  the  children  of  men. 

"  As  to  the  generation  that  must  pass  away  before  oui 
strength  shall  entirely  equal  that  of  our  great  relative,  there 
is  little  cause  for  apprehension.  England  has  already  done 
and  said  her  worst.  We  dread  her  power  as  a  veteran  dreads 
the  whizzing  of  bullets ;  he  knows  the  deadly  messengers  may 
do  him  harm,  but  the  sound  is  far  too  familiar  to  excite  alarm. 
Let  those  who  believe  England  more  powerful  now  than  she 
was  fifty  years  shiQe,  ask  themselves  whether  she  can  repeat 
her  efforts? — let  those  who  wish  to  think  of  America  in 
1824,  as  they  did  in  1776,  approach,  like  yourself,  and  make 
their  own  observations. 

"  I  should  describe  the  difference  between  the  treatment 
which  the  American  receives  in  England,  and  that  which  the 
Englishman  receives  in  America,  as  being  very  marked. 
Notwithstanding  all  that  has  passed,  we  admit  the  English 
man  freely  and  cordially  into  our  houses,  and  I  think  we  treat 
him,  even  now,  rather  as  a  distant  relative  than  as  an  alien. 
There  is  so  much  natural  interest  in  the  feeling  which  in 
duces  us  to  listen  curiously  to  accounts  of  the  country  of  our 
fathers,  that  it  may  still  require  time  to  lose  it  altogether. 
Almost  every  English  traveller  in  America  (who  has  pub 
lished)  admits  the  cordiality  and  kindness  of  his  reception. 
Though  this  acknowledgment  is  commonly  made  with  some 
such  flourish  as — '  we  found  the  name  of  Englishman  a  gen 
eral  passport,'  it  is  not  the  less  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
fact.  What  is  the  other  side  of  the  picture  ?  Remember 
that  I  do  not  speak  of  exceptions,  but  of  rules ;  not  of  men 
whom  good  fortune,  or  merit,  or  caprice,  or  fashion,  or  curi 
osity,  or  any  other  cause,  has  made  the  objects  of  attention^ 
nor  of  those  whose  goodness  of  heart,  and  laudable  desire  to 
study  character  as  it  is  exhibited  in  nations  as  well  as  in  in 
dividuals,  excite  to  kindness ;  but  of  those  of  my  countrymen 
who  travel  as  a  body,  and  of  those  Englishmen  who  ordinarily 
receive  them  as  guests  in  their  own  island. 

"  In  the  first  place,  an  American  has  evidently  to  overcome 
a  dislike  to  be  received  at  all.  This  circumstance  is  betrayed 
to  us  in  a  thousand  ways.  The  first  and  most  common  is  an 
evident  desire  to  avoid  us.  It  is  betrayed  to  us  by  foreigners. 


NOTES.  325 

who  tell  us  distinctly  of  the  fact ;  and  it  is  betrayed  to  us  by 
the  very  manner  in  which  their  civilities  are  offered  when 
circumstances  induce  them  to  depart  a  little  from  their  cus 
tomary  reserve. 

"  The  reception  of  an  American  in  England  is  not  without 
amusement.  I  shall  say  nothing  of  the  honest,  blustering 
hospitality  of  that  class  in  whom  prejudice  cannot  always 
repress  kindness,  (especially  if  profit  be  in  view;)  but  my 
remarks  are  now  made  on  a  class  who  have  no  direct  gain 
before  their  eyes.  These  good  folk  are  prodigious  patron- 
izers.  Nothing  makes  them  so  happy  as  to  get  an  American, 
and  to  show  him  that  they  are  not  above  treating  him  as  an 
equal ;  and  in  order  that  the  poor  foreigner  should  have  no 
excuse  for  denying  the  condescension,  they  neglect  no  oppor 
tunity  of  exhibiting  it.  These  people  are  every  moment 
giving  you  solemn  assurances  that  they  are  above  the  vulgar 
prejudices  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  perhaps  you  are 
gravely  told  that  the  party  despises  the  theory  which  says 
physical  nature  is  not  so  perfect  in  America  as  in  Europe,  by 
an  individual  who  is  gravely  looking  up  in  your  face  at  an 
angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  One  of  the  best-bred,  natural, 
and  easy  women  that  I  met  in  London  was  a  countrywoman 
of  my  own.  A  very  cosmopolite  took  occasion  to  compliment 
me  on  the  subject;  but,  probably  fearing  he  had  said  too 
much,  he  concluded  by  telling  me  that '  she  had  been  caught 
young !'  On  another  occasion  I  was  assured,  in  the  presence 
of  twenty  people,  that  a  countryman  of  my  own  '  could  not 
have  been  a  finer  gentleman  than  he  was  had  he  been  edu 
cated  in  London  or  Paris  !'  An  American  lady  was  dancing 
in  the  midst  of  fifty  Englishwomen,  and  her  performance  was 
so  creditable,  that  I  was  led  to  believe  by  a  by-stander,  that 
he  saw  no  difference  in  her  grace  and  that  of  the  belles  of 
his  own  island !  I  should  be  ungrateful  indeed,  not  to  ac 
knowledge  the  polished  liberality  of  such  concessions,  which, 
I  candidly  assure  you,  exceeds  any  thing  in  the  same  way  I 
ever  heard  in  my  own  country.  But  these  are  cases  to  be 
laughed  at :  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  others  occur,  in  which 
indignation  destroys  the  spirit  of  merriment. 

"  Now,  all  this  is  exceedingly  absurd  and  very  pitiful. 
Heaven  knows  that  every  rational  American  is  willing  enough 
to  admit  what  time,  and  money,  and  learning  have  done  for 
Europe ;  nor  do  I  think,  unless  provoked  by  superciliousness, 
that  we  are  too  apt  to  remind  her  possessors  of  what  they 
have  not  done.  But  it  is  lamentable  that  the  truly  high 
breeding  and  excellent  sense  of  those  who  do  possess  these 
qualities  in  an  eminent  degree,  in  England,  cannot  look  down 
Ff 


326  NOTES. 

the  overweening  character  of  so  many  of  the  nation.  That 
they  do  not,  my  own  experience,  and  the  observations  of 
every  intelligent  man,  will  show.  I  do  not  say,  that  if  we 
were  the  old,  and  proud,  and  successful  people,  that  we 
should  discover  better  taste,  deeper  humility,  or  more  can 
dour  ;  but  this  I  do  know,  that  being  the  people  we  are,  we 
are  not  likely  to  submit  quietly  to  the  exhibition  of  an  un 
earned  superiority  in  others.  These  things  must  be  changed, 
or  the  growth  of  the  feeling  to  which  I  have  already  alluded 
appears  to  me  to  be  inevitable.  Hundreds  of  American 
travellers  are  in  Europe  at  this  hour.  Each  year  increases 
the  number,  as  it  increases  their  influence  on  the  tone  of 
the  public  mind  at  home.  Perhaps  nine  out  of  ten,  place 
their  feet  on  the  land  of  their  ancestors  with  a  feeling  in 
its  favour ;  and  I  am  firmly  persuaded,  that,  from  the  causes 
I  have  named,  nine  out  of  ten  leave  it  with  satisfaction, 
and  return  to  it  with  reluctance.  The  same  individuals 
quit  France,  Italy,  Russia,  Switzerland  and  Germany,  with 
kind  and  friendly  recollections.  England  and  the  United 
States  are  placed  in  situations  to  make  them  respectful  com 
petitors,  or  downright  haters.  Love  does  not  more  infallibly 
beget  love,  than  dislike  creates  dislike.  I  honestly  think  we 
are,  as  yet,  substantially  the  defendants  in  this  war  of  inuen- 
dos.  We  have  certainly  returned  abuse  for  abuse,  and  as 
coarsely  and  as  vulgarly,  and  frequently  as  ignorantly,  as  it 
has  been  bestowed ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  our  resentment 
which  wears  the  aspect  of  settled  and  calculating  hostility. 
I  think  our  people  have  been  wrong :  they  have  often  met 
calumny  with  deprecation,  when  they  would  have  better  shut 
its  mouth  by  exhibiting  spirit.  We  never  got  any  thing  from 
England  in  the  way  of  petition  or  remonstrance;  but  we 
have  obtained  a  glorious  empire  by  resolution.  I  am  no  ad 
vocate  for  vindictive  and  vulgar  recrimination ;  but  I  think 
the  nation  or  the  individual  who  would  maintain  his  proper 
position,  must  take  justice  and  self-respect  for  his  guides, 
and  care  as  little  as  possible  for  others. 

"  It  would  be  as  disgusting  as  it  is  unprofitable,  to  descend 
into  the  paltry  details  of  the  manner  in  which  prejudices 
and  contempt  are  fostered  in  England  against  America. 
Some  itinerant  hears  a  gross  expression  from  the  lips  of  a 
vulgar  man  in  New-York,  or  a  horrid  oath  in  the  mouth  of 
Borne  blasphemous  boatman  on  the  Mississippi,  and  they  are 
instantly  transferred  to  the  pages  of  works  like  the  Quarterly, 
and  half  a  dozen  others  similar  to  it,  as  specimens  of  Amer 
ican  manners  !  Do  those  who  preside  over  the  publications 
in  question,  believe  that  the  art  of  objurgation  is  unknown 


NOTES.  327 

in  their  own  country  ?  I  can  tell  them  from  close  observation, 
that  sentences  are  daily  and  hourly  uttered  in  London  itself, 
which,  though  they  may  want,  and  commonly  do  want,  the 
miserable  ingenuity  of  those  they  quote,  fail  in  none  of  the 
blasphemy.  '  Pretty  considerable]  is  always  dignified  with 
italics ;  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  lucky  if  it 
be  not  interpolated  into  his  annual  message ;  but  it  may 
appear,  as  it  does  appear,  in  page  64,  lines  6  and  7,  of  the 
famous  Reflections  on  the  French  Revolution,  by  the  Right 
Hon.  Edmund  Burke,  in  Roman  insignificance ! 

"  It  behoves  the  wise,  and  the  principled,  arid  the  good  of 
the  two  nations,  to  put  a  stop  to  feelings  which  can  so  easily 
give  rise  to  all  that  is  disagreeable.  But  truckling  is  not 
wisdom  in  us,  nor  is  condescension  politeness  in  them.  We 
must  meet  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  as  equals :  not  in 
concessions,  that  are  wrung  by  policy,  or  perhaps  by  a  still  less 
worthy  motive ;  but  as  mortals,  who  have  but  one  nature  and 
one  God.  Until  this  shall  be  done,  and  not  till  then,  it  is 
vain  to  expect  the  least  revival  of  the  feeling  that  might  arise 
from  a  common  parentage  and  common  principles.  I  have 
reason  to  think  that  I  do  not  stand  alone,  in  this  opinion,  by 
millions.  The  time  is  near,  I  had  almost  written  frightfully 
near,  when  two  nations,  wrho  thoroughly  understand  each 
other's  vituperations,  shall  support  a  delicate  rivalry  by  equal 
power.  That  crisis  is  to  be  passed  ere  the  danger  of  the 
malady  shall  abate.  For  one,  I  can  say,  in  all  sincerity,  that 
I  hope  it  may  be  done  in  peace ;  but  I  "should  be  blind  to  the 
effect  of  natural  causes,  did  I  not  see  that  it  is  a  period  at 
tended  with  alarm.  It  is  a  thousand  pities  that  the  good 
ness  of  heart,  and  the  secret  sympathies  which  bind  the  lovers 
of  humanity  together,  should  be  smothered  by  the  grosser 
and  more  active  passions  of  the  world ;  but  nature  and  self- 
preservation  point  to  only  one  course  when  the  appeal  is 
seriously  made  to  the  patriot.  It  is  by  this  unfortunate 
supremacy  of  the  coarser  passions  of  life,  that  the  best  men 
eventually  get  enthralled  in  the  mental  tyranny  of  prejudice 
and  hostility. 

"  You  will  perceive  by  what  is  here  written,  that  words 
and  empty  profession  pass  but  for  little  in  my  poor  estimate 
of  liberality.  If  I  know  myself,  an  Englishman  is  regarded 
as  any  other  man.  When  I  find  him,  as  I  am  happy  to  say  I 
have  found  hundreds,  benevolent,  kind  of  heart,  and  liberally 
enlightened,  he  even  draws  nearer  to  my  sympathies  than 
any  other  foreigner ;  but  the  instant  any  of  the  qualities  men 
tioned  above,  are  discovered,  distrust,  coldness,  and,  not  un- 
frequently,  unconquerable  disgust,  succeed.  There  is  no 


328  NOTES. 

other  object  in  mentioning  my  own  instance,  except  as  it 
goes  to  prove  what  is  the  feeling  of  an  individual  who  has 
never  been  the  subject  of  any  peculiar  causes  to  make  his 
case  different  from  that  of  the  mass  of  his  nation.  I  believe 
it  is  the  state  of  mind  of  a  vast  majority  of  that  portion  of  my 
countrymen  who  are  brought  much  in  collision  with  the  na 
tives  of  Great  Britain.  But  these  sympathies  may  be  blighted 
too  often.  It  is  vain  to  say,  that  the  mass  of  mankind  are 
ignorant,  and  prejudiced,  arid  obstinate,  while  you  cannot  add 
that  they  are  impotent.  Men  act  and  feel,  they  war  and  they 
destroy,  in  masses ;  and  it  is  as  bodies,  and  not  in  their  insu 
lated  exceptions,  that  they  must  be  viewed. 

"  But  I  deny  that  the  prejudice  of  England  against  America 
is  limited  to  the  ignorant,  though  I  am  willing  to  admit,  and 
admit  it  I  do  with  unaffected  pleasure,  that  there  are  many 
and  manly  exceptions.  Still,  a  deep,  settled,  ignorant,  and,  I 
think,  an  increasing  hostility,  to  the  people,  the  institutions, 
and,  I  fear,  to  the  hopes  of  the  United  States,  exists  in  the 
minds  of  a  vast  majority  of  the  middling  classes.  I  use  the 
term  middling  in  an  intellectual,  no  less  than  in  its  ordinary, 
acceptation.  It  is  not  a  month  since  a  friend  of  mine  acci 
dentally  met  a  clergyman's  daughter,  of  good  manners,  of  a 
naturally  kind  heart,  and  of  great  general  good  sense,  who 
manifested  this  temper  in  an  extraordinary  degree.  Chance 
introduced  the  subject  of  America,  and  it  is  scarcely  possible 
to  describe  the  quality  of  her  abuse,  which  knew  no  other 
bounds  than  what  propriety  of  sex,  and  some  little  respect  for 
condition,  would  impose.  On  inquiry,  it  appeared  that  this 
lady  (for  she  was  not  at  all  unworthy  of  the  appellation)  had 
never  known  an  American  in  her  life  !  She  had  listened  too 
eagerly  to  misrepresentation  and  caricature ;  and,  perhaps, 
tier  very  intelligence  added  to  her  spleen,  by  giving  the  alarm 
to  her  patriotism.  But  the  progress  of  a  great  nation  is  not 
to  be  stopped  by  angry  words. 

"  You  may  be  inclined  to  ask  if  the  American  is  not  often 
guilty  of  the  same  weakness  ?  No  doubt  he  is — though  al 
ways  with  this  marked  difference :  he  disputes,  and  often  de 
nies  the  claims  of  England,  in  this  or  that  particular ;  he  is 
disgusted  with  certain  usages,  and  does  not  scruple  to  say  so ; 
he  laughs  at  the  self-delusion  of  her  poets  and  dramatists ; 
but  he  does  not  deny  her  general  right  to  be  considered  among 
the  greatest  nations  of  the  earth.  While  he  sees  and  acknow 
ledges,  and  has  often  felt  the  equality  of  her  courage,  and 
morals,  and  enterprise,  he  confesses  no  superiority,  because, 
in  simple  truth,  it  has  no  existence.  I  do  not  ever  remember 
to  have  heard  one  of  my  countrymen,  however  ignorant  or 


NOTES.  329 

vulgar,  refuse  to  admit  an  Englishman  to  most  of  the  merit 
of  being  a  sufficiently  civilized  man ;  but  it  would  be  quite 
easy  to  produce  printed  evidence,  in  works  of  character,  to 
show  that  there  is  no  reciprocity  in  even  this  doubtful  degree 
of  liberality. 

"  I  shall  close  this  long,  and,  I  fear,  tiresome  note,  bj 
writing  still  more  frankly.  I  have  heard  a  great  deal  of 
professions  of  amity  and  kindness  towards  America,  during 
my  recent  visit  to  England.  I  feel  that  no  man  has  a  right 
to  distrust  declarations  that  come  from  fearless  and  honest 
natures.  For  my  own  part,  I  give  credit  to  the  sincerity  of 
the  individuals  who  have  made  them.  But  when  these 
declarations  come,  as  they  so  often  do  come,  openly  and  in 
print,  accompanied  by  sneers,  and  misrepresentations,  and 
caricatures,  it  would  exceed  the  ordinary  bounds  of  humar 
vanity  to  yield  them  faith.  In  order  that  no  misconception 
may  exist  on  this  head,  I  beg  leave  to  direct  your  attention 
to  the  Quarterly  Review,  a  publication  which,  erroneously 
or  not,  is  said  to  enjoy  a  particular  degree  of  the  favour  of 
those  who  control  the  policy  of  England.  Will  any  honest 
or  candid  man  say,  that  the  spirit  and  language  of  this 
journal  are  conciliatory?  If  the  English  nation  wish  to  cher 
ish  an  amicable  temper  with  America,  this  is  not  the  way 
to  effect  their  object.  One  is  often  at  a  loss  to  arrive  at 
the  spirit  which  dictates  these  mongrel  essays.  Are  their 
writers  so  ignorant  of  human  nature,  as  not  to  know,  that 
while  one  taunt  will  be  remembered,  a  thousand  qualifying 
commendations  will  be  forgotten  ?  If  they  are  written  for 
the  English  nation,  do  they  not  prove  the  existence  of  the 
temper  I  have  described?  and  if  they  are  written  for  the 
American,  is  it  believed  that  we  shall  take  our  political  creed 
from  known  rivals  ?  If  peace  between  England  and  America 
be  an  object — and  God  knows,  I  consider  it  an  object  of  deep 
and  momentous  concern — it  is  not  to  be  preserved  by  means 
like  these.  There  is  one  question  alone,  which  must  always 
endanger  the  harmony  of  the  two  nations.  I  mean  the 
question  of  impressment.  So  long  as  this  delicate  and  im 
portant  point  remains  at  issue,  England  cannot  war  with  any 
other  power  without  creating  a  fearful  risk  of  drawing 
America  into  the  controversy.  There  exists  no  longer  in  the 
United  States,  a  blind  and  infatuated  party  to  uphold  a 
foreign  people  in  the  support  of  a  doctrine  that  is  as  untena 
ble  by  common  sense,  as  it  is  insulting  to  the  sovereignty  of 
an  independent  nation,  and  this  is  a  question,  therefore,  that 
can  only  be  disposed  of  by  great  conciliation  and  mutual  for 
bearance.  But,  admitting  that  the  administration  of  the 
Ff2 


330  NOTES. 

United  States  should  be  disposed  to  cede  a  little,  for  a  time, 
to  policy,  until  our  sinews  shall  be  still  better  strung,  Heaven 
be  praised,  the  American  administration  can  do  nothing  against 
the  feeling  and  declared  will  of  the  American  nation.  Kind 
words  cost  but  little.  He  who  does  not  choose  to  use  them, 
cannot  expect  to  have  his  joke  and  keep  his  friend.  It  may 
be  very  pleasant  to  laugh  at  the  honest  and  sincere  anticipa 
tions  of  a  people  whose  hopes  have  never  yet  been  deceived ; 
but  it  would  be  far  wiser  to  consider  what  are  called  the 
boastful  exaggerations  of  the  Americans,  as  so  many  indica 
tions  of  the  spirit  with  which  the  vast  power  they  are  so 
shortly  and  so  inevitably  to  possess,  will  be  wielded.  People 
may  not,  and  do  not  like  to  hear  of  these  things  ;  but  I  appeal 
to  the  candour  of  any  honest  man,  if  we  tell  them  as  often, 
as  plainly,  and  as  forcibly  as  provocation  and  superciliousness 
would  justify ;  nay  more,  I  do  not  think  we  tell  them  ourselves 
as  often  as  they  are  betrayed  by  the  jealousy  of  others.  We 
live  in  the  quiet  of  a  reasonable,  and,  I  hope,  of  a  grateful 
security.  There  is  one  feature  in  the  intercourse  between 
all  Europeans  and  Americans  that  should  never  be  forgotten. 
The  former  proceed  on  the  assumption  of  premises  which 
were  once  true,  are  now  false,  and  will  shortly  be  absurd ; 
and  they  talk  on  quietly,  with  an  air  of  superiority,  of  which, 
half  the  time,  they  are  unconscious  themselves — while  the 
American  is  thought  an  arrogant  innovator,  if  he  pretend 
even  to  equality. 

"  Turning  from  this  picture  of  irritating  and  jealous  con 
tention,  one  scarcely  knows  where  to  seek  the  antidote  to  the 
poison  which  is  thus  insidiously  infused  into  the  two  nations. 
It  can  only  be  found  in  the  high  principles  and  good  sense  of 
the  religiously  disposed,  and  of  the  enlightened.  The  former 
class  may  endure  and  deprecate,  for  their  office  is  meek  and 
holy  charity ;  but  it  may  be  well  questioned,  if  the  know 
ledge  of  man  and  worldly  wisdom  do  not  tell  the  intelligent 
American,  that  his  nation  has  already  forborne  too  long. 
When  are  we  to  expect  the  termination  of  these  constant  ap 
peals  to  our  forbearance,  or  when  are  we  to  look  with  confi 
dence  to  the  hour  in  which  misrepresentation  and  calumny 
shall  cease  ?  I  refer  you  to  the  VII.  Number  of  the  Quarterly 
Thelogical  Review  and  Ecclesiastical  Record,  a  work  de 
voted  to  the  promulgation  of  Christian  doctrines,  as  a  striking 
evidence  of  the  temper  which  pervades  so  much  of  England 
on  the  subject  of  America.  It  is  vain  to  say,  that  the  sermon 
it  affects  to  review  is  any  justification  of  the  language  it  con 
tains  There  is  nothing  in  that  sermon  but  what  a  minister 
of  God  had  a  perfect  right  to  tell  his  people.  But  it  seems 


NOTES.  331 

our  Bishop  is  accused  of  having  left  an  erroneous  opinion  of 
his  sentiments  behind  him  in  England.  I  hope  his  successors 
will  profit  by  the  hint,  and  deal  a  little  more  frankly,  though 
it  should  be  done  at  some  expense  of  politeness.  If  any  thing 
can  serve  to  make  the  sweeping  and  ridiculous  charges  of  this 
review  more  absurd,  it  is  the  well-known  fact,  that  millions 
in  Great  Britain  pine  to  enjoy  the  distant  advantages  of  the 
very  regions  the  writer  affects  to  undervalue.  It  is  no  small 
refutation  of  a  large  portion  of  the  calumny  heaped  upon  us, 
that  no  work,  pretending  to  a  religious  character,  could  pub 
lish  such  gross  exaggerations  of  any  other  people,  in  Amer 
ica,  without  meeting  its  punishment  in  the  powerful  rebuke 
of  a  community  that  knows  well  how  to  distinguish  between 
the  professions  and  the  duties  of  Christianity. 

"  But  I  have  no  wish  to  pursue  the  ungrateful  subject  fur 
ther.  If  we  do  not  recriminate  and  assail,  it  is  not  for  want 
of  means,  but  for  want  of  inclination.  All  of  our  travellers  in 
England  have  as  yet  been  Hodgsons  (at  least  in  temper ;)  and 
it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  while  so  many  English  have  been 
journeying  in  America,  to  ridicule,  to  caricature,  and  to  mis 
represent,  not  a  single  American  of  the  thousands  who  daily 
visit  and  have  visited  England,  has,  to  my  knowledge,  ever 
undertaken  the  office  of  retaliation.  I  shall  not  offend  your 
good  sense,  by  pretending  you  do  not  know  how  easy  the  task 
would  become,  to  an  American  who  had  the  disposition  and 
the  talents  for  its — I  had  almost  written  duty. 

"  I  have  treated  this  matter  more  gravely  than  the  security 
and  indifference  of  most  Americans  would  induce  them  to 
believe  necessary.  But  to  me  there  seems  a  danger  in  the 
subject  that  my  countrymen,  who  now  openly  laugh  at  these 
'  paper  bullets,'  do  not  always  see.  It  is  plain  to  me,  that 
immense  numbers  in  England  have  a  secret  presentiment 
that  there  is  great  danger  of  a  war  between  the  two  coun 
tries.  I  take  the  often  repeated  disclaimers  of  a  wish  for 
hostilities  to  be  a  bad  omen.  No  man  in  America,  thinks  at 
all  on  the  subject.  I  do  affirm  that  I  have  heard  more  said 
about  war  in  the  last  four  weeks  in  England,  than  in  the  last 
four  years  that  I  passed  at  home.  I  think  one  can  trace 
easily  the  cause  of  this  difference  of  feeling.  We  are  passive, 
for  we  have  neither  distrust  nor  jealousy.  We  know  we  are 
moving  steadily  to  our  object,  and  we  think  or  care  little 
about  what  other  people  wish  or  contemplate.  I  do  not  be 
lieve  that  two  grave  and  thinking  nations  will  ever  enter  into 
hostilities  on  account  of  pasquinades ;  but  pasquinades  can 
produce  a  state  of  feeling  that  may  render  it  difficult  to  over 
come  serious  obstacles  to  peace.  That  these  obstacles  have 


332  NOTES. 

arisen,  and  that  they  will  constantly  continue  to  arise,  good 
men  may  lament,  but  prudent  men  must  foresee. 

"  Having  very  probably  wearied  you,  my  dear ,  with 

a  subject  in  which  you  may  not  feel  as  interested  as  myself, 
you  havegi,  right  to  some  advice  concerning  those  preliminary 
investigations  on  which  you  are  so  meritoriously  inclined.  I 
scarcely  know  a  book  to  which  I  can  refer  you.  Most  of  the 
travels  are  next  to  worthless.  Even  statistical  works  are 
liable  to  so  much  explanation,  in  a  country  where  changes 
are  so  rapid,  that  they  are  apt  to  mislead.  For  this  simple 
reason,  no  book,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  can  be  deemed  a 
standard  work.  It  is  found  difficult,  with  the  utmost  industry, 
for  even  the  geographies  to  maintain  their  places  in  the 
schools.  What  is  true  to-day,  may,  where  so  much  activity 
prevails,  become  erroneous  to-morrow.  It  is  a  common  say 
ing,  that  an  American  who  remains  five  years  abroad,  gets 
behind  his  country.  There  are  many  and  lamentable  proofs 
of  its  justice.  It  would  have  been  just  as  safe  for  the 
Austrians  to  believe  Napoleon  at  Turin  this  week,  because 
he  was  at  Milan  the  last,  as  it  would  be  exact  to  calculate 
that  America  is  the  same  the  present  as  she  was  found  the 
preceding  year.  A  population  that,  in  our  infancy,  amounted 
to  three  millions,  has  already  swelled  to  twelve,  and  thou 
sands  are  now  in  being  who  will  live  to  see  it  fifty !  All  other 
changes  have  kept  equal  pace  with  the  unprecedented  and 
nearly  incredible  growth  of  our  numbers. 

"  You  will  find,  in  the  British  Annual  Register,  a  sufficient 
ly  correct  history  of  the  war  of  the  revolution.  It  is  often 
coloured  in  matters  that  may  touch  the  national  pride ;  but  is 
written  with  far  too  much  talent  to  be  vulgarly  illiberal. 
Many  of  the  private  memoirs  of  that  period,  English,  French, 
and  American,  have  merit  as  well  as  interest  for  those  who 
are  disposed  to  seek  it  on  so  trite  a  subject :  but  Marshall, 
with  all  his  faults  of  arrangement,  for  candour,  manliness, 
and  judicious  weighing  of  testimony,  is  a  model  for  all  his 
tories.  His  opportunities,  too,  for  obtaining  the  truth  have 
probably  never  been  equalled  by  any  other  historian.  For 
books  of  a  later  date,  I  scarcely  know  where  to  refer  you. 
The  little  episode  of  Anquetil  on  the  American  war,  is  won 
derfully  erroneous.  He  confounds  names,  dates,  and  events, 
in  a  manner  that  is  inexplicable.  He  is  not  alone  in  saying 
that  the  mistress  of  Washington  had  betrayed  his  secrets! 
Nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  suppose  any  woman  had 
the  power  of  betraying  the  secrets  of  one  so  wise,  unless  it 
be  to  suppose  that  woman  was  his  mistress.  A  more  profound 
ignorance  of  the  man,  or  of  the  people  by  whom  he  was  in- 


NOTES.  333 

trusted,  cannot  easily  be  imagined.  After  all,  you  have  chosen 
the  only  course  by  which  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of  America 
can  be  obtained.  You  will  labour  under  one  disadvantage, 
however,  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  get  rid  in  years.  An 
European  can  scarcely  spare  sufficient  time  to  acquire  the 
simplicity  of  habits,  may  I  also  say,  simplicity  of  thought, 
necessary  to  estimate  our  country.  There  is  no  people  of 
whom  a  superficial  knowledge  is  so  soon  gained,  for  they  are 
communicative  and  without  suspicion ;  but  long  familiarity  is 
required  to  judge  of  a  nation  so  eminently  practical,  and  so 
universally  influenced  by  common  sense.  Of  one  thing  you 
may  be  assured,  that  nothing  I  can  bestow  shall  be  wanting 
to  make  your  visit  both  pleasant  and  profitable.  And  now, 
my  dear ,"  &c.  &c. 


NOTE  B.— Page  16. 

"  WHAT  effect  did  the  general  hostilities  of  Europe,  from 
1792  to  1814,  produce  on  the  maritime  spirit  or  on  the  naviga 
tion  of  your  country ;  and  what  was  the  counteracting  influ 
ence  of  the  retaliating  measures  of  the  belligerents,  of  your 
own  restrictive  laws,  and  of  the  war  of  1812?" 

"  As  to  maritime  spirit,  I  should  answer,  none.  The 
American  has  ever  shown  an  inclination  to  the  sea,  and  per 
haps  there  is  no  branch  of  his  industry  and  profit  that  he 
would  abandon  with  greater  reluctance.  You  will  find  the 
proofs  of  this  disposition  in  history,  in  his  professional  skill, 
in  the  restless  enterprise  of  the  national  character,  and  in  the 
sagacity  of  the  people,  which  is  not  likely  to  admit  of  their 
being  cajoled  into  an  impression  that  they  do  not  comprehend 
their  own  interests.  The  long  neutrality  of  the  Americans 
certainly  added  to  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  and  enabled  its 
merchants  to  increase  their  tonnage  to  a  comparatively  enor 
mous  amount.  In  1810,  when  the  population  of  the  coun 
try  but  a  little  exceeded  7,000,000,  there  were  more  than 
1,400,000  tons  of  shipping  under  the  American  flag.  After 
allowing  for  errors  and  frauds,  both  of  which  existed  at  that 
period  to  some  extent,  this  was  making  one  ton  to  every  five 
souls.  To  equal  this  ratio,  Great  Britain  should  possess  a 
tonnage  of  near  five  millions,  and  France  one  of  six,  and  that 
without  computing  the  inhabitants  of  their  dependencies. 
But,  great  as  was  the  effect  of  this  neutral  character  on 
America,  it  was  by  no  means  equal  to  that  which  would  have 
been  produced  by  her  natural  advantages  to  profit  by  such  a 


334  NOTES. 

position,  had  not  the  contest  been  marked  by  a  singular  dis 
regard  of  the  established  usages  of  the  world.  The  "  orders 
in  council"  of  the  English,  and  the  "  decrees"  of  the  French 
are  not  unknown  to  you.  Under  the  operations  of  those  novel 
principles  of  belligerent  rights,  more  than  sixteen  hundred 
sail  of  American  vessels  were  captured  or  sequestered  by  the 
English,  French,  Spaniards,  Danes,  and  Neapolitans.  Of 
this  number,  near  a  thousand  were  condemned,  and,  with 
their  cargoes,  entirely  lost  to  the  nation.  These  captures 
occurred  during  the  enjoyment  of  our  neutral  character !  The 
restrictive  laws,  a  measure  of  our  own  forbearing  policy,  fol 
lowed  these  heavy  losses,  and,  for  near  two  years,  the  foreign 
trade  of  the  country  was  entirely  abandoned.  To  these  again 
succeeded  a  war  of  near  three  years,  with  a  nation  which 
commanded  the  sea,  which  had  little  else  to  do  on  that  ele 
ment  but  to  annoy  our  trade,  and  which,  for  much  of  the 
time,  had  no  other  enemy.  To  all  these  checks,  which,  in 
1814,  had  reduced  the  navigation  of  the  country  to  about 
one-twentieth  of  what  it  hacT  been  seven  years  before,  suc 
ceeded  the  general  peace,  a  period  when  each  community 
returned  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  own  peculiar  advantages. 
If  we  put  the  short  and  nominal  interruption  to  the  peace, 
that  was  occasioned  by  the  return  of  Napoleon,  as  a  set-oif 
to  the  additional  year  that  the  American  war  continued,  we 
can  suppose  all  the  nations  to  have  re-entered  the  lists  of 
commercial  enterprise  together.  The  result  is  known  to  you. 
Though  America  has  not  regained  her  former  ratio  of  ton 
nage,  (a  thing  not  to  be  expected  during  a  general  peace,) 
she  has  become  again,  compared  with  her  population,  the 
most  maritime  nation  of  the  earth.  When  one  coolly  reflects 
on  the  shocks  she  sustained  in  her  wealth,  the  long  continu 
ance  of  the  restrictions  she  endured,  and  her  infancy,  the 
impression  must  be  irresistible  that  there  exists,  either  in  the 
spirit  of  her  people,  or  in  the  resources  of  America,  or  in 
both,  an  operating  cause  to  produce  these  effects,  which  is  to 
be  found  nowhere  else.  Does  any  man  believe  that  there  is 
a  single  nation  in  Europe  that  could  have  recovered  so  soon 
from  similar  shocks  ?  The  restoration  of  the  convalescent 
child  to  its  pristine  powers,  is  not  more  strongly  contrasted 
to  the  laboured  and  feeble  efforts  of  age,  than  is  the  elasticity 
with  which  America  recovers  from  political  pressure  to  be 
compared  to  the  cumbered  efforts  of  the  older  and  more  arti 
ficial  communities  of  Europe." 

"  What  effect  is  the  continuance  of  peace  likely  to  produce 
on  the  navigation  of  your  country  ?" 

"  Peace  will  of  course  change,  indeed  it  has  already,  in 


NOTES.  335 

some  measure,  changed  the  direction  of  our  commerce.  We 
are  now  placed,  as  regards  mere  privilege,  on  a  level  with 
other  nations.  That  we  are  more  than  equal  to  maintain  the 
competition,  wherever  trade  is  conducted  on  principles  of 
reciprocity,  is  manifest  hy  the  fact  that  we  conduct  so  large 
a  proportion  of  the  intercourse  between  ourselves  and  the 
rest  of  the  world.  The  main  result  is  already  to  be  seen  in 
existing  facts ;  though  it  is  undeniably  in  the  power  of  other 
countries  to  throw  embarrassments  in  our  way,  just  as  it  is  in 
our  power  to  adopt  measures  of  retaliation.  It  is  useless  to 
carry  this  investigation  into  details,  since  the  minute  policy 
of  nations  to-day  may  differ  so  much  from  that  of  to-morrow. 
It  appears  to  me  that  the  question  of  the  increase  of  our 
navigation  is  altogether  one  of  degree.  That  it  must  con 
tinue  to  increase  is  just  as  capable  of  demonstration  as  the 
facts  that  it  has  increased,  and  does  increase,  are  notorious. 
Let  us  look,  for  instance,  at  a  branch  of  the  trade  that  is  al 
most  without  exception  within  our  own  control.  On  exam 
ination  it  will  be  seen,  that  while  the  foreign  commerce  of 
the  United  States  has  vacillated  with  the  changes  of  external 
causes,  the  trade  coastwise  has  been  regularly,  and,  I  might 
add,  naturally,  on  the  increase.  In  America,  the  vessels 
which  are  employed  in  the  intercourse  between  one  State  and 
another,  or,  in  fact,  between  one  port  and  another,  are  enu 
merated  in  a  different  class  from  those  which  sail  for  ports 
without  the  country.  The  former  are  known  as  registered, 
and  the  latter  as  licensed  vessels.  The  difference  in  name  is 
owing  to  the  difference  in  the  document  which  gives  to  each 
its  respective  character.  In  all  other  respects  the  employ 
ments  are  the  same.  When  the  destination  of  the  vessel  is 
changed,  it  becomes  necessary  to  change  the  evidence  of 
character.  Now,  in  1790,  the  licensed  tonnage  of  the  coun 
try  amounted  to  103,775  tons.  It  exceeds,  at  the  present 
hour,  this  amount  by  seven-fold.  The  increase  has  been  re 
markably  regular,  and  is  always  in  a  ratio  rather  exceeding 
that  of  the  population  of  the  country.* 

"  The  most  rational  way  of  anticipating  the  future  state 
of  our  commerce  by  the  past,  is  to  consider  the  ratio  of  the 
increasing  wants  of  the  country  in  connexion  with  the  ef 
fects  which  repletion,  if  I  may  so  term  it,  never  fails  to  pro 
duce  on  the  moral  no  less  than  on  the  physical  system.  So 
long  as  the  animal  is  in  a  state  of  growth,  ample  sustenance 
tends  to  aid  that  growth,  by  keeping  the  frame  equal  to  its 

*  The  reports  of  1826,  raise  the  tonnage  of  the  United  States  to  1,534,000 
tons,  of  which  more  than  800,000  are  in  the  coasting  trade  and  fisheries. 


336  NOTES. 

utmost  powers  of  developement ;  but  as  maturity  approaches 
excessive  nourishment  gradually  begins  to  defeat  its  own  ob 
ject.  There  are  also  points  in  the  developement  of  the  re 
sources  of  all  communities,  where  calculation  must  become 
subject  to  the  re-actions  of  a  state  of  rest,  and  of  a  retro- 
gradation,  just  as  in  the  animal  system  allowances  were  to 
be  made  for  a  condition  of  infant  vigour.  Should  we  as 
sume,  for  a  rule,  the  past  ratio  of  the  increase  of  our  coast 
ing  trade,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  last  few  years,  it  has 
hitherto  been  exceedingly  regular,  we  shall  have,  multiplying 
the  present  amount  by  seven,  a  total  of  near  five  millions  for 
the  licensed  tonnage  of  the  country  in  the  year  1860.  Under 
a  general  impression  of  its  improbability,  the  mind  rejects 
this  enormous  amount  as  exaggerated,  and,  no  doubt,  with 
some  reason.  If  we  take  the  positive  growth  of  the  past 
without  any  reference  to  its  comparative  rate  of  increase,  it 
will  require  another  thirty  years  to  add  another  600,000  tons 
to  this  branch  of  our  trade.  But  as  the  United  States  are 
still  in  the  course  of  a  vigorous  and  healthful  developement 
of  their  resources,  there  are  those  who  would  reject  the  prin 
ciple  of  this  manner  of  estimation,  however  they  might  be 
satisfied  with  its  result.  If  we  take  the  known  rate  of  the 
increase  of  our  population  as  a  guide,  we  shall  have  a  licen 
sed  tonnage  of  about  1,500,000  in  the  year  1850.  With  these 
facts  in  view,  you  are  nearly  or  quite  as  well  qualified  to  judge 
of  this  matter  as  myself,  though  all  conjecture  on  the  subject 
must  necessarily  be  made  under  a  sense  of  the  mutability  of 
human  affairs.  In  order  to  form  an  opinion  of  this  branch  of 
trade,  however,  and  of  its  effects  on  the  maritime  character 
of  the  nation,  you  will  remember  that  the  voyages  are  made 
in  vessels  of  from  ten  tons,  to  those  of  five  hundred,  and  that 
they  are  from  twenty  miles  in  extent  to  two  thousand.  Now, 
this  trade  is  all  our  own,  and  can  never  be  materially  invaded, 
during  peace,  by  the  policy  of  any  other  people.  It  is  in  it 
self  such  a  germ  of  nautical  power  as  exists  nowhere  else, 
unless  it  may  be  in  England,  where  it  exists  at  all  times  sub 
ject  to  the  dangers  of  colonial  discussions  and  conflicting  in 
terests.  In  short,  it  is  such  a  healthful,  safe,  and  increasing 
source  of  commerce,  as,  I  think,  can  never  be  long  equalled 
by  the  intercourse  between  principal  and  dependant." 

"  What  effect  will  manufactures  be  likely  to  produce  on 
the  maritime  character  of  your  people?  How  far  will  the 
cheapness  of  land  have  a  tendency  to  divert  your  population 
from  the  ocean,  and  what  will  be  the  probable  influence  of 
the  inland  States  in  opposing  the  commercial,  or  navigating 
interests  of  the  maritime?" 


NOTES.  337 

"  These  are  questions  often  asked ;  but  the  two  first  of 
them,  at  least,  might  be  answered  by  the  results  of  all  expe 
rience.  Men  navigate  ships  for  precisely  the  same  object 
that  they  manufacture  goods.  They  do  both  to  enrich  them 
selves,  or  to  prevent  want.  It  is  a  good  reason  why  the 
islander  should  go  to  sea,  that  he  can  do  nothing  better ;  but 
it  is  just  as  good  a  one,  that  the  inhabitant  of  a  continent 
should  do  the  same  thing,  because  he  can  do  nothing  else 
half  so  profitable.  Men  can  be  led  as  well  as  driven.  Now, 
the  American  long  ago  made  the  discovery  that,  notwith 
standing  the  high  price  of  labour  in  his  country,  as  he  can  sail 
a  ship  cheaper  than  others,  he  is  likely  to  reap  most  emolu 
ment  in  turning  his  attention  to  the  sea.  In  consequence  of 
this  discovery,  the  nation  has  become  maritime ;  and  it  will 
undeniably  continue  maritime  so  long  as  there  is  profit  to  be 
derived  from  navigation.  Land  was  cheaper  thirty  years  ago 
than  to-day,  and  yet  our  citizens  left  it  to  earn  their  money 
on  the  water.  The  ship-master  who  gains  three  or  four  hun 
dred  dollars  a  year  on  his  farm,  rents  it,  and  goes  to  sea  to 
earn  a  thousand,  and  the  labourer  prefers  twelve  dollars  a 
month  to  eight.  The  very  cheapness  of  land,  by  lessening 
the  value  of  its  products,  assists  to  create  this  state  of  things. 
As  the  population  increases,  the  relative  prices  of  labour 
will  necessarily  diminish,  until  the  time  shall  come  when  men 
will  go  to  sea  in  America,  as  elsewhere,  because  they  can  do 
nothing  else.  There  is,  however,  another  cause  which  must 
never  be  lost  sight  of,  when  one  reasons  on  the  inducements 
which  tempt  men  to  quit  the  land  for  the  water.  I  mean  the 
restlessness  of  moral  excitement.  This  cause  is  more  active 
in  America,  where  the  labouring  classes  read  more,  and  hear 
more  of  adventure  than  any  where  else.  It  is  true,  that  pos 
sibly  one-third  of  the  common  seamen  employed  in  the  foreign 
trade  of  America  are  foreigners ;  this  fact  is  not,  however, 
owing  to  any  indisposition  to  the  sea  on  the  part  of  the  na 
tives,  but  to  the  superabundance  of  the  supply  in  Europe, 
and  the  higher  inducements  which  the  American  ship-owner 
is  able  to  offer  for  labour.  Nearly,  or  perhaps  quite,  in  the 
proportion,  however,  as  strangers  come  to  us,  do  our  own 
people  go  abroad.  The  American  sailor  is  to  be  found  all 
over  the  world,  and  wherever  he  is  known,  he  is  liked  for  his 
cleverness,  and  generally  for  his  comparatively  quiet  habits. 
There  is  no  political  truth  more  certain  in  America,  than  that 
all  demands  will  meet  with  their  supply.  To  those  who  are 
familiar  with  the  subject,  it  is  often  a  matter  of  surprise  to 
witness  how  infallibly,  and  how  soon  an  extraordinary  de 
mand  for  labour  produces  a  glut  in  a  country  where  every 


338  NOTES. 

thing  is  more  abundant  than  man.  It  is  not  unusual  fb? 
artisans  or  day-labourers  to'  be  informed  of  these  demands, 
by  means  of  the  public  prints,  and  for  adventurers  to  be  seen 
undertaking  journeys  of  hundreds  of  miles,  not  to  provide 
against  want,  but  in  order  to  reap  the  utmost  possible  emolu 
ment  from  their  personal  efforts.  In  this  particular,  no 
parallel  can  be  drawn  between  America  and  any  other  coun 
try,  since  no  other  country  possesses  such  varied  and  cheap 
means  of  intelligence  and  communication,  nor  a  population 
sufficiently  active  and  intelligent  to  profit  by  them.  As 
respects  enterprise  and  intelligence,  the  mass  of  our  labouring 
people  may  be  placed  on  a  level  with  the  better  instructed 
English  mechanic:  without  his  particular  excellence,  it  is 
true,  but  with  infinitely  more  general  and  useful  information. 
Men  would  come  from  the  forest  to  the  sea  to  meet  a  de 
mand,  just  as  men  will  go  from  the  sea  to  the  interior,  when 
that  demand  has  more  than  met  with  its  supply.  So  long  as 
the  merchant  can  afford  to  pay  for  labour,  he  will  never  want 
seamen  in  America,  since  it  is  commerce  that  makes  mari 
ners,  and  not  mariners  commerce.  There  are  certain  familiar 
facts  that  have  a  mo-re  particular  connexion  with  the  present 
state  of  our  seamen,  which  we  may  find  it  useful  to  refer  to, 
when  we  shall  come  to  consider  America  as  a  naval  power. 
But  the  subject  must  be  postponed,  until  you  have  seen  some 
thing  of  the  country  itself. 

"  As  respects  the  supposed  difference  between  the  interests 
of  what  you  call  the  maritime,  and  of  the  interior  States, 
it  has  no  real  existence,  and  can,  therefore,  never  produce 
any  important  results.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  state  of 
society  where  there  is  so  little  competition,  (the  source  of 
all  discord,)  between  its  members,  as  is  to  be  found  in  the 
United  States.  The  unfortunate  and  lamentable  grievance 
of  slavery  ceases  to  be  an  evil  in  this  respect.  That  momentary 
collisions  of  opinion  do  arise  between  northern  and  southern, 
between  eastern  and  western  policy,  is  undeniable;  but 
they  are  far  more  the  results  of  the  right  to  complain,  than 
of  any  natural  disability  to  maintain  the  connexion.  Fancy 
for  a  moment,  that  Ireland,  Scotland,  Canada,  and  the  West 
Indies,  could  make  themselves,  not  heard,  but  felt  in  the 
councils  of  their  empire,  and  then  figure  to  yourself  the  dis 
cord  that  would  follow  !  Nay,  look  at  that  which  does  at  this 
moment  exist,  when  their  voices  are  so  feeble,  and  their  ef 
forts  so  impotent.  Now,  in  America,  the  southern  planter 
has  need  of  the  shipping  and  manufactures  of  some  one. 
He  has  only  to  ask  himself  whether  he  will  use  those  of  a 
people  in  whose  councils  he  shares,  or  those  of  strangers. 


NOTES  339 

The  converse  of  the  proposition  exhibits  the  principle  which 
binds  the  northern  to  the  southern  man.  On  all  the  great 
and  leading  questions  of  policy,  their  interests  are  identified, 
and  the  harmony  which  has  suffered  so  little  interruption  for 
half  a  century,  shows  how  sensible  they  are  of  its  truth.  Any 
departures  from  this  accordance  of  opinion,  are  merely  trifling 
exceptions,  which  are  only  the  more  prominent  from  their 
infrequency.  If  the  States  of  Ohio,  Tennessee,  and  Ken 
tucky,  had  the  exclusive  power  to  legislate  on  the  commerce 
of  the  Union,  they  might  encumber  it  from  ignorance  of  its 
practices,  though  they  would  not  be  slow  to  perceive  how 
useful  it  is,  even  to  themselves.  But  commerce  is  regulated 
in  the  grand  council  of  the  nation,  where  men  are  assembled 
who  know  how  to  compare  their  respective  wants,  and  where 
small  sectional  interests  are  completely  silenced  by  the  voices 
of  the  majority.  But  after  all,  in  considering  this  question,  a 
great  deal  too  much  stress  is  laid  on  the  inland  States  of 
America.  The  territorial  limits  of  the  States  are  ideal,  so  far 
as  commerce  is  concerned.  As  bodies  politic,  the  States  are 
totally  mute  in  the  matter.  Neither  is  extent  of  coast  any 
evidence  of  the  maritime  habits  of  a  State.  New- York,  with 
more  shipping,  has  less  coast  (if  an  island  without  ports  be 
excepted,)  than  the  two  smallest  States  of  the  Union.  Out 
of  twenty-four  States,  seventeen  touch  the  sea,  five  lie  on  the 
great  lakes,  and  the  remaining  three  have  direct  navigable 
water  communication  with  the  port  of  New-Orleans,  and  will 
shortly  have  an  internal  water  communication  with  that  of 
New-York. 

"  As  to  manufactures,  they  are  clearly  a  means  of  aiding 
commerce,  when  they  exist  in  communities  that  can  profit  by 
both.  It  will  be  adding  one  more  to  the  other  numerous 
nautical  resources  of  the  country,  let  them  thrive  with  us  to 
day,  or  fifty  years  hence,  since,  putting  exportation  out  of  the 
question,  they  will  clearly  increase  the  objects  of  intercom 
munication. 

"  I  know  of  but  one  other  manner  of  considering  the  mat 
ter  that  is  embraced  by  your  query.  It  does  not,  in  truth, 
properly  belong  to  the  subject,  though,  as  it  is  always  forced 
into  view  in  Europe,  I  presume  you  may  expect  me  to  say 
something  concerning  it.  here.  I  mean  the  extent  to  which 
emigration  will  affect  navigation,  by  depriving  the  maritime 
States  of  their  seamen.  I  have  already  said,  that  should 
there  be  a  demand  for  seamen,  it  would  produce,  when  neces 
sary,  a  counter-current.  But  it  never  can  be  necessary. 
Of  this  truth  you  will  be  convinced  by  a  simple  statement 
of  facts.  Though,  perhaps,  one-third,  and  sometimes  one- 


340  NOTES. 

half  of  the  seamen  employed  in  our  foreign  trade  may  be 
foreigners,  the  country  has  always  possessed  enough  of  its 
own  to  conduct  its  commerce.  Thousands  live  on  shore  for 
years  at  a  time,  and  thousands  are  induced  to  go  abroad  in 
quest  of  adventure.  In  the  trade,  coastwise,  fisheries,  &.c. 
&c.  nine-tenths,  or,  perhaps,  more  are  natives.  Now  these 
men  have  been  chiefly  supplied  by  five  of  the  New-England, 
and  the  five  middle  States.  In  1790,  the  population  of  these 
ten  States  amounted  to  2,264,536.  In  1820,  it  had  reached 
4,603,974 ;  that  is  to  say,  it  had  doubled  in  thirty  years,  not 
withstanding  the  vast  emigration  they  had  sent  to  the  west. 
This  increase  is  certainly  liable  to  some  explanation.  During 
this  time,  New- York,  Pennsylvania,  Maine,  and  New-Hamp 
shire,  have  been,  comparatively  speaking,  new  States.  But 
the  two  latter  have  never  been  favourites,  and  all  have,  for 
the-  last  fifteen  years,  sent  forth  more  emigrants  than  they 
have  received,  and  they  have  received  few  settlers  that  did 
not  come  from  some  one  of  the  other  six.  The  increase  of 
these  ten  States  between  the  years  1810  and  1820,  a  period 
during  which  they  must  have  been  losers  by  the  emigration, 
was  little  short  of  900,000  souls.  Thus,  you  see,  the  question 
has  become  exceedingly  narrow.  If  the  fact,  that  we  have 
now  a  sufficient  number  of  native  seamen,  to  conduct  our 
trade,  be  admitted,  the  tonnage  of  the  country  must  double 
in  thirty  years,  or  the  increase  of  the  population  of  these  ten 
States  alone  can  furnish  the  necessary  supply  for  the  future. 
In  making  these  remarks,  I  have  excluded  foreign  emigration 
from  the  estimates,  since  it  is  well  known  that  it  produces  no 
visible  effect  on  the  population  of  the  country.  It  has  been 
judiciously  calculated  that,  all  births  allowed,  the  population 
of  the  United  States  was  scarcely  augmented  200.000  souls, 
by  foreign  emigration,  in  five-and-thirty  years.  It  is  said  to 
be  increasing  a  little  just  now,  a  fact  that  will,  of  course, 
only  facilitate  our  ability  to  meet  any  extraordinary  demand 
for  men." 


TO  THE  COUNT  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 

COLONEL  EN  RETRAITE  OF  THE  IMPERIAL  GUARD. 


Washington, 

I  WRITE  you  from  the  little  capital  of  this  great 
republic.  After  lingering  at  Baltimore  until  reasons 
for  all  further  delay  were  exhausted,  we  reluctantly 
turned  our  faces  westward.  Cadwallader  had  pointed 
out  to  me  sundry  busy-looking  travellers,  who  were 
strolling  through  the  streets  of  the  town,  with  more 
gravity  of  mien  (assumed  or  natural)  than  is  common 
to  meet  in  a  city,  and  whispered  in  my  ears  that  they 
were  members  of  Congress,  on  their  way  to  the  seat 
of  government.  This  was  a  hint  not  to  be  disregarded. 
Tearing  ourselves  from  the  attraction  of  bright  eyes 
and  soft  voices,  we  gallantly  entered  a  coach,  and 
broke  the  chain  of  attraction  which,  like  the  fabled 
magnet  of  Mahomet's  coffin,  had  so  long  kept  me 
suspended  between  heaven  and  earth.  Heigho  !  dear 
Jules,  I  confess  to  twenty-four  hours,  when  a  treach 
erous  intention  of  resigning,  to  some  less  inexorable 
successor,  the  stall  which  I  so  unworthily  fill  in  our 
self-denying  chapter,  was  insidiously  floating  before 
my  imagination.  But  a  resolution  which  has  borne 
me  through  so  many  similar  dangers  in  triumph, 
Gg2 


342  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

(aided  by  the  members  of  Congress),  was  victorious. 
By-the-bye,  I  am  grieved  to  the  heart  to  hear  of  the 
sad  accident  that  has  befallen  the  professor,  and  most 
sincerely  do  I  pray  that  the  time  may  be  long  averted 
when  it  shall  become  necessary  to  supply  a  vacancy 
in  our  numbers,  from  a  cause  so  fatal  as  a  marriage. 
The  grave  might  be  wept  over,  and  time  would 
soften  grief  for  the  death  of  even  a  bosom  friend,  but 
what  could  time  do  towards  mitigating  a  penance 
performed  at  the  confessional  of  Hymen  ?  The  more 
sincere,  and  the  more  frequent  the  acknowledgments, 
the  more  keen  and  helpless  would  the  bitterness  of 
a  spirit  so  thoroughly  bruised  become.  If  you  pass 
through  the  queen  of  cities  this  winter,  order  a  new 
cushion  to  my  chair ;  I  intend  that  the  sittings  of 
1827  shall  wear  well  into  the  mornings ! 

The  road  between  Baltimore  and  Washington  is 
neither  particularly  bad  nor  particularly  good.*  It 
passes  through  a  comparatively  barren,  and  a  little 
inhabited  country.  It  was  here  that  I  first  observed 
the  great  difference  between  the  aspect  of  the  slave- 
holding  and  the  non-slave-holding  States.  In  Penn 
sylvania,  at  the  distance  of  sixty  miles  north  of  our 
present  route,  we  should  have  seen  a  landscape,  over 

*  It  may  be  well  to  state,  once  for  all,  the  following1  facts 
concerning  the  American  roads.  In  all  the  northern  and  eastern 
States,  for  nine  months  in  the  year,  they  are,  as  a  rule,  toler 
ably  good  in  those  parts  of  the  country  where  the  establishments 
are  old  enough  to  admit  of  it.  In  the  spring,  and  in  the  autumn, 
there  are  periods  when  most  of  the  roads  are  bad.  There  are 
many  roads,  however,  as  good  as  the  ordinary  turnpike  roads 
of  England,  and  which  vary  very  little  in  quality  throughout 
the  year.  A  traveller  in  an  American  stage-coach  cannot  well 
compare  the  roads  of  the  United  States  with  those  of  England, 
for  the  coaches  of  the  former  are  not  suspended  on  springs, 
though  the  seats  are  sometimes  supplied  with  them.  As  one 
quits  the  older  parts  of  the  country,  the  roads  gradually  grow 
worse,  until,  in  the  very  newest  settlements,  they  are  often  no 
more  than  trees  that  are  marked,  or  blazed,  to  indicate  the 
courses  of  the  route. 


BLADENSBURGH.  343 

which  farm-houses,  barns,  and  all  the  ordinary  objects 
of  a  prosperous  husbandry,  were  profusely  sprinkled, 
while  here  the  houses  began  to  be  distant  from  each 
other,  or  were  grouped  in  little  clusters  apart  from 
the  highways.  This  portion  of  America  bears  a 
greater  resemblance  to  continental  Europe,  than  the 
States  we  have  quitted.  The  dwelling  of  the  planter 
is  the  chateau ;  and  the  huts  of  the  slaves  form  the 
contiguous  village.  A  difference  in  the  moral  con 
dition  of  the  ages  in  which  the  two  have  been  con 
structed,  has  induced  some  very  sensible  alterations 
in  the  plans  of  the  buildings ;  but,  still  the  outline  is 
the  same. 

I  was  surprised  at  the  sterility  and  nakedness  of 
the  country  through  which  we  journeyed,  though  I 
was  given  to  understand  that  a  great  deal  of  the  State 
of  Maryland  is  land  of  the  richest  quality.  There 
were  one  or  two  small  villages  on  the  route,  but 
which,  after  those  we  had  seen  further  north,  wore 
a  miserable  air.  I  am  not  certain,  however,  that 
they  are  not  quite  as  good  in  every  particular  as  the 
ordinary  villages  of  Europe.  Here  I  first  saw  fields 
for  the  tobacco  plant.  It  grows  in  hills,  not  unlike 
the  maize,  and  is  rarely,  or  never,  fenced,  no  animal 
but  man  having  a  relish  for  the  unsavoury  weed. 

At  the  distance  of  six  or  seven  miles  from  Wash 
ington,  we  stopped  at  the  village  of  Bladensburgh,  a 
place  notorious  for  two  circumstances.  It  lies  just 
without  the  territory  of  the  district  of  Columbia,  and 
is  the  spot  usually  chosen  for  the  decision  of  private 
combats  ;  and  it  is  the  place  where  the  affair  be 
tween  the  English  and  the  Americans  was  fought  a 
few  hours  before  the  former  entered  the  city. 

I  confess  I  had  thought  it  surprising  that  so  small  a 
force  (about  5000  men)  could  have  taken  possession 
of  the  capital  of  so  powerful  a  nation ;  but  a  nearer 
view  has  entirely  dissipated  the  wonder.  It  was  a 
point  where  the  Americans,  having  nothing  of  mill- 
A  2 


344  BATTLE  OF  BLADENSBURGH. 

tary  importance  to  defend,  had  assembled  no  force, 
and  there  is  not  probably  on  the  whole  line  of  their 
coast,  a  more  deserted  and  tenantless  region  than  the 
country  traversed  by  the  invaders.  The  troops  ral 
lied  to  resist  the  English,  as  their  intention  became 
known,  were  merely  the  citizens  of  the  adjoining 
country,  who  assembled  in  a  very  imperfect  state  of 
preparation,  and  who  were  very  little,  if  at  all,  supe 
rior  in  numbers  to  their  antagonists.  They  had  not 
even  the  ordinary  inducements  to  risk  their  lives 
against  those  of  hireling  troops  ;  for,  even  to  this  hour, 
it  is  difficult  to  find  what  object  General  Ross  could 
have  had  in  hazarding  his  army  in  an  expedition  that 
might  have  been  attended  with  destruction.  A  man 
like  Jackson  to  oppose  him  would  have  insured  it. 

I  alighted  at  Bladensburgh,  and,  accompanied  by 
my  friend,  walked  in  advance  of  the  carriage  over 
the  ground,  attended  by  a  sufficiently  intelligent  man 
who  had  witnessed  the  whole  affair.  As  it  is  a  little 
in  your  way,  the  details  I  gleaned  shall  be  rendered 
as  an  offering  to  your  military  gout.  Should  they  fail 
of  the  interest  which  has  so  often  been  thrown  over 
the  entrances  of  Moscow  and  Paris,  you  know  how 
to  make  allowances  for  an  inferiority  in  dramatic  ef 
fect,  which  is  no  more  than  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  difference  between  the  conquest  of  a  city  of 
half  a  million  of  inhabitants,  and  of  a  town  of  eight 
or  nine  thousand. 

The  country  around  Bladensburgh  is  gently  undu 
lating  and  moderately  wooded.  A  small  stream  lies 
near  the  village,  and  between  it  and  the  capital.  It 
is  crossed  by  a  wooden  bridge.  So  much  hurry  and 
indecision  appear  to  have  existed  among  the  defend- 
ers,  that  even  this  bridge  was  not  destroyed,  though 
it  might  have  been  rendered  impassable  in  ten  min 
utes.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  many  of  their 
troops,  such  as  they  were,  only  reached  the  ground 
at  the  critical  moment  when  they  were  wanted  in 


A  LAWYER  FOR  A  GENERAL.  345 

the  combat.  The  dispositions  for  resistance  were 
made  along  the  crest  of  a  gentle  acclivity,  at  the  dis 
tance  of  rather  more  than  a  mile  from  this  bridge. 
The  centre  of  their  position  was  on  the  highway, 
and  its  defence  was  intrusted  to  a  few  seamen  antl 
two  or  three  hundred  marines,  the  only  disciplined 
forces  on  the  ground.  A  few  light  troops  (all  militia) 
were  pushed  in  front  to  the  banks  of  the  stream,  and 
two  pieces  of  artillery  were  placed  at  a  point  to 
command  the  passage  of  the  bridge.  There  was  a 
little  skirmishing  here ;  and  it  seems,  by  the  English 
accounts,  that  they  suffered  severely  from  the  artil 
lery  in  crossing  the  bridge.  The  ground  in  front  of 
the  seamen  and  marines  was  a  gentle  acclivity,  and 
perfectly  open.  Here  there  was  some  sharp  fighting. 
The  British  columns  were  obliged  to  open,  and  Gen 
eral  Ross  began  to  manoeuvre.  But  the  militia  did 
not  wait  to  be  turned,  for  they  retired  to  a  man  (the 
skirmishers  excepted),  without  firing  a  gun.  The 
seamen  and  marines  stood  well,  and  were  necessarily 
brought  off  to  prevent  capture.  The  artillery  was 
all,  or  nearly  all,  taken.  This  is,  in  substance,  what 
is  called  the  Battle  of  Bladensburgh.  The  Ameri 
can  loss  was  trifling,  less  than  two  hundred,  and  that 
of  the  English  perhaps  three  or  four  hundred. 

It  is  easy  to  criticise  the  disposition  of  the  Ameri 
can  commander.  This  gentleman  was  an  able  law 
yer  of  the  adjoining  State  of  Maryland,  who  had  lis 
tened  to  the  whisperings  of  that  uneasy  ambition 
which  sometimes  makes  men  heroes.  He  had  quitted 
the  gown  for  the  sword  a  short  time  before,  and 
probably  knew  as  little  about  his  new  profession  as 
you  know  of  the  one  he  had  deserted.  Lawyer  or 
not,  had  this  gentleman  placed  his  fellow-citizens  (for 
soldiers  they  cannot  be  called)  in  and  about  the  Cap 
itol,  and  had  they  only  fought  as  well  as  they  did,  he 
taking  care  not  to  give  them  any  particularly  favour 
able  opportunity  of  dispersing,  I  think  General  Ross 


346  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

would  have  been  spared  the  very  equivocal  glory  of 
burning  all  that  then  existed  of  that  edifice ;  viz.  the 
two  wings.  He  listened  to  other  counsels. 

As  we  approached  the  capital,  we  saw  before  us 
an  extent  of  open  country  that  did  not  appear  to  be 
used  for  any  agricultural  purposes.  It  lay,  without 
fences,  neglected,  and  waste.  This  appearance  is 
common  just  here,  and  is  owing  to  the  circumstance 
that  tobacco  exhausts  the  soil  so  much,  that,  in  a 
country  where  land  and  its  products  are  still  so  cheap, 
it  is  not  worth  the  cost  of  restoring  it.  We  soon  got 
a  view  of  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  whole  of 
the  faqade  of  that  noble  edifice  came  into  view,  as 
we  mounted  a  slight  eminence  which  had  partly  con 
cealed  it.  As  my  eye  first  wandered  eagerly  around, 
at  this  point,  to  gather  together  the  scattered  particles 
of  the  city,  I  will  take  the  present  occasion  to  con 
vey  a  general  impression  of  its  appearance. 

The  seat  of  government  was  removed  from  Phila 
delphia  to  this  place,  in  order  that  it  might  be  more 
central.  So  far  as  a  line  drawn  north  and  south  is  in 
question,  this  object  is  sufficiently  answered.  But 
Washington  stands  so  very  far  east  of  a  central  meri 
dian  as  to  render  it  probable  that  other  considera 
tions  influenced  the  change.  I  have  never  heard  it 
so  said,  but  nothing  is  more  probable  than  that  the 
slave-holding  States  required  some  such  concession 
to  their  physical  inferiority.  At  all  events,  every 
body  appears  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  present 
position  of  the  capital.  Perhaps,  notwithstanding 
the  difference  on  the  map,  the  place  is  practically 
nearer  the  centre  than  if  it  stood  farther  west.  The 
member  from  Alabama,  or  Louisiana,  or  Missouri, 
arrives  by  sea,  or  by  means  ot  the  great  rivers  of  the 
west,  with  about  the  same  expense  of  money  and  of 
labour  as  the  member  from  Vermont,  Maine,  or  New- 
Hampshire.  Some  one  must  always  have  the  benefit 
of  being  nearest  the  political  centre,  and  it  is  of  no 


PLAN   OF  THE   CITY.  347 

great  moment  whether  he  be  a  Virginian  or  an 
Ohiese.  As  the  capital  is  now  placed,  it  is  more 
convenient  for  quick  communication  with  Europe 
than  if  farther  inland,  and  it  is  certainly  nearer  the 
centre  of  interests  where  it  stands,  than  it  would  he 
in  almost  any  other  spot  in  the  confederation. 

Had  the  plan  of  the  city  been  as  well  conceived 
as  its  locality,  there  would  be  less  ground  of  com 
plaint.  The  perspective  of  American  character  was 
certainly  exhibited  to  great  advantage  in  the  concep 
tions  of  the  individual  who  laid  out  the  site  of  this 
town.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  imagine  a  more  un 
fortunate  theory  than  the  one  he  assumed  for  the 
occasion.  He  appears  to  have  egregiously  mistaken 
the  relative  connexion  between  streets  and  houses 
since  it  is  fair  to  infer  he  would  not  have  been  so 
lavish  of  the  one  without  the  aid  of  the  other,  did  he 
not  believe  the  latter  to  be  made  use  of  as  accessories 
to  the  former,  instead  of  the  reverse,  as  is  every 
where  else  found  to  be  the  case.  And,  yet  I  think, 
both  nature  and  art  had  united  to  point  out  the  true 
plan  for  this  city,  as  I  shall  endeavour  to  convince 
you  without  delay. 

The  ground  occupied  by  the  city  of  Washington, 
may  be  described  as  forming  a  tolerably  regular  tri 
angle.  Two  of  its  sides  are  washed  by  the  two 
branches  of  the  Potomac,  which  diverge  towards 
the  north-east  and  north-west,  while  on  its  third, 
there  are  no  limits  to  its  extent,  the  land  being  a 
somewhat  gentle  acclivity,  gradual  on  the  whole, 
though  undulating,  and  often  broken  in  its  minute 
parts.  The  river  below  the  point  is  a  noble  stream, 
stretching  for  many  miles  to  the  southward,  in  full 
view  of  the  town.  Both  of  its  branches  are  naviga 
ble  for  near  a  league.  At  the  distance  of  about  two 
miles  from  the  point,  the  main  river  (west  branch), 
which  had  hitherto  washed  a  champaign  country, 
enters  a  range  of  low  mountains,  and  makes  a  stiU 


348  DESCRIPTION    OF    WASHINGTON. 

more  decided  inclination  to  the  west.  Here  is  the 
head  of  tide  and  of  navigation.  The  latter  circum 
stance  had  early  pointed  out  the  place  for  the  site  of 
a  town,  and  accordingly  a  little  city  grew  on  the  spot, 
whence  tobacco  and  lumber  were  shipped  for  other 
ports,  long  before  the  neighbourhood  was  thought  of, 
as  the  capital  of  a  great  nation.  This  place  is  called 
Georgetown.  It  is  rather  well  built  than  otherwise, 
and  the  heights,  in  its  rear,  for  it  lies  against  an  ac 
clivity,  are  not  only  beautiful  in  themselves,  but  they 
are  occupied  by  many  pretty  villas.  It  contains  in 
itself,  perhaps  9000  inhabitants.  It  has  a  college  and 
five  churches,  two  of  which  are  Episcopal. 

Georgetown  is  divided,  from  what  is  termed  Wash 
ington  City,  by  a  rapid  little  stream  called  Rock 
Creek.*  The  land,  for  a  considerable  distance  after 
the  creek  is  crossed,  is  well  adapted  for  a  town.  It 
is  sufficiently  unequal  to  carry  off  the  water,  and  yet 
sufficiently  level  for  convenient  streets.  Here  is  the 
spot,  I  think,  where  the  buildings  should  have  been 
collected  for  the  new  city.  But  at  the  distance  of 
about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  bridge,  a  vast 
square  is  laid  out.  On  one  of  its  sides  is  the  Presi 
dent's  House,!  flanked  by  the  public  offices.  A  few 
houses  and  a  church  are  on  two  more  of  its  sides, 
though  the  one  opposite  to  the  l  White  House '  is  as 
•  yet  entirely  naked.  From  this  square,  sundry  great 
avenues  diverge,  as  do  others  from  another  centre, 
distant  a  mile  and  a  half  still  further  east.  The 
latter  square  is  adorned  by  the  Capitol.  Across  all 

*  The  Americans  often  call  a  small  river  a  ereek,  and  brooks 
of  a  large  size  are  oftener  called  creeks  than  any  thing  else. 
Schoharie  Creek  is  as  large  as  the  Seine,  at  Paris.  It  is,  to  all 
intents,  a  rapid  river ;  but  the  size  of  many  of  their  rivers  is  so 
great  as  to  produce  a  sort  of  impression  that  the  smaller  streams 
should  be  of  a  different  class. 

t  The  Americans  familiarly  call  the  exceedingly  pretty  little 
palace  in  which  their  chief  magistrate  resides,  the  u  White 
House/1  but  the  true  appellation  is  the  President's  House. 


POPULATION    OF    WASHINGTON.  349 

these  avenues,  which  are  parallel  to  nothing,  there 
is  a  sort  of  net-work  of  streets,  running  at  right 
angles  with  each  other.  Such  is  Washington  on  the 
map. 

In  point  of  fact,  but  few  of  the  avenues  or  streets 
are  opened,  and  fewer  still  are  built  on.  There  is 
one  of  the  former  running  from  the  bridge  at  George 
town  to  the  first  square,  and  another  leads  from  the 
President's  House  to  the  capitol.  There  are  two  or 
three  more  which  connect  important  points,  though 
only  the  two  named  are  sufficiently  built  on  to  have 
the  least  of  the  character  of  a  town.  There  are 
rather  more  streets  open,  though  not  one  of  them  all 
is  absolutely  built  up  from  one  end  to  the  other. 

In  consequence  of  the  gigantic  scale  on  which 
Washington  is  planned,  and  the  different  interests 
which  influence  the  population,  its  inhabitants  (in 
cluding  Georgetown)  are  separated  into  four  distinct 
little  towns,  distant  from  each  other  about  a  mile. 
Thus  we  have  Georgetown  in  the  west,  containing 
9000  souls  ;  the  town  immediately  around  the  Presi 
dent's  House,  (extending  towards  the  Capitol,)  with 
perhaps  10,000;  that  around  the  Capitol,  of  some 
two  or  three  thousand  souls;  and  the  buildings  at 
the  Navy- Yard,  which  lies  on  the  east  branch,  still  a 
mile  further.  The  whole  city*  including  its  three 
divisions,  with  here  and  there  a  few  scattered  build 
ings,  may  now  contain  about  16,000  souls. 

When  the  people  of  the  United  States  determined 
to  have  a  more  central  capital,  it  was  thought  best 
to  give  the  general  government  absolute  jurisdiction 
over  it.  In  order  to  effect  this  object,  it  was  neces 
sary  to  extinguish  the  State  rights.  This  was  done 

*  Georgetown,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  not  properly  a  part 
of  the  city  of  Washington,  though  in  the  district  of  Columbia ; 
but,  in  point  of  fact,  it  is  as  nigh  the  President's  House,  as  is  the 
Capitol.  There  is  also  a  little  group  of  houses  at  the  junction 
of  the  two  branches  of  the  Potomac. 
Hh 


350        GOVERNMENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

by  Virginia  and  Maryland  ceding  sufficient  territory 
to  make  a  district  of  ten  miles  square  at  the  point  I 
have  described.  In  this  little  territory  the  President 
exercises  the  authority  which  a  governor  commonly 
exercises  in  a  State,  or  rather,  there  is  no  interme- 
diate  or  concurrent  executive  authority  between  him 
and  the  people,  as  in  the  several  States ;  and  Con 
gress,  though  in  fact  elected  by  the  citizens  of  the 
States,  does  all  the  legislation.  Thus  the  inhabitants 
of  this  territory  have  no  representation  whatever; 
neither  voting  for  members  of  Congress,  nor  for  mem 
bers  of  any  State  legislature.  But  their  voices  are 
often  heard  in  the  way  of  petitions  and  demands.  It 
is  probable  that  when  they  shall  become  as  numerous 
as  the  smallest  State,  they  will  receive  the  right  of 
electing  representatives.* 


*  The  writer  will  take  this  opportunity  of  introducing  a  short 
account  of  the  formation  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  since  it  will  assist  to  explain  a  good  deal  of  that  which 
is  to  follow. 

The  executive  power  is  in  the  President.  He  nominates  to 
office ;  pardons  all  offences,  except  convictions  under  impeach 
ments  ;  conducts  negotiations ;  sees  that  the  laws  are  admin 
istered,  and  is  the  military  chief  of  the  army  and  navy,  subject 
to  the  laws.  He  makes  treaties  with  the  consent  of  the  Senate, 
and  gives  his  assent  to  all  laws,  though  a  law  can  be  passed 
without  him,  if  two-thirds  of  both  houses  vote  in  its  favour. 
The  Senate  is  the  representation  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  States, 
each  State  sending  two  members,  who  are  chosen  by  their  re 
spective  legislatures.  They  serve  for  six  years,  one-third  va 
cating  their  seats  every  new  Congress.  They  have  a  concur 
rent  power  with  the  lower  house  m  enacting  laws;  they  ratify 
treaties ;  they  approve  of  nominations  to  office,  and  they  con 
stitute  a  High  Court  of  Impeachment.  The  Representatives 
are  elected  directly  by  the  people,  one  member  being  sent  from 
a  regulated  number  of  electors.  They  serve  for  one  Congress, 
which  exists  two  years,  commencing  on  the  4th  of  March  of 
one  year,  and  ending  on  the  3d  of  March  of  the  year  but  one 
that  follows.  The  official  term  of  the  President  is  for  two  of 
these  Congresses,  and  that  of  a  Senator  for  three.  The  Repre 
sentatives,  or  members  of  the  lower  house,  have  concurrent 
power  in  the  enactment  of  the  laws,  and  being  the  grand  in 
quest  of  the  nation,  they  can  impeach  any  officer  of  the  gov 
ernment. 


GOVERNMENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.         351 

I  think  you  must  be  enabled  to  understand  the 
anomaly  of  the  district  of  Columbia.  It  has  been 
necessarily  fostered  by  the  nation,  for  as  it  has  been 
entirely  called  into  existence,  as  a  separate  commu- 

Every  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  is  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  and  who  possesses  certain  trifling  qualifications,  can 
vote  for  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  provided 
he  himself  be  a  resident  of  a  State.  The  confederation  is  only 
of  the  States  ;  but  there  are  vast  regions  belonging  to  them  as 
common  property,  which  do  not  lie  within  the  boundaries  of  any 
State.  This  country  is  subdivided  for  the  purposes  of  conve 
nience,  and  is  governed  entirely  by  the  authority  of  the  Presi 
dent  and  Congress,  or  according  to  laws  enacted  for  that  pur 
pose.  With  the  exception  of  one  (the  District  of  Columbia) 
they  are  called  territories.  Thus,  besides  the  twenty-four 
States,  there  are  the  North-western,  Michigan,  Arkansas,  and 
Florida  territories.  Certain  legislative  rights  are  granted  to 
all  the  territories  that  have  a  sufficient  population,  but  none  is 
yet  granted  to  the  District  of  Columbia.  Some  of  the  territories 
even  send  delegates  to  Congress.  These  delegates  can  speak, 
but  they  cannot  vote.  As  the  territories  reach  an  established 
rate  of  population,  they  are  uniformly  admitted  into  the  con 
federation,  as  States.  It  is  probable  that  Michigan,  Florida, 
and  Arkansas  will  be  admitted  as  States  soon  after  the  next 
census,  after  which  a  long  period  will  be  likely  to  elapse  with 
out  any  farther  increase  of  the  number  of  the  States.  The  great 
difficulty  in  making  a  foreigner  comprehend  the  institutions  of 
the  United  States,  exists  in  the  double  form  of  its  government. 
Neither  the  President,  nor  Congress,  nor  both,  have  authority 
to  interfere  with  government  beyond  the  power  which  has  been 
conceded  to  them  by  the  States.  They  can  make  war,  raise 
armies,  lay  taxes,  send  fleets  to  sea,  and  do  many  other  things, 
but  they  cannot  punish  a  theft,  unless  committed  on  the  high 
seas,  to  which  their  jurisdiction  of  course  extends,  or  in  some 
other  place  where  they  have  the  exclusive  or  a  concurrent 
power.  Thus,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  may  pardon 
a  man  convicted  of  robbing  the  United  States'  mail,  though  the 
act  should  have  been  done  in  the  most  crowded  street  of  the 
city  of  New-York,  because  the  regulation  of  the  mail,  being  a 
matter  of  public  convenience,  is  vested  in  the  government  of 
the  confederation,  with  all  power  necessary  to  its  safety  and 
despatch;  but,  if  the  same  coach  should  be  robbed  in  a  forest, 
and  it  did  not  contain  a  mail,  or  something  else  over  which  the 
United  States  have  jurisdiction,  the  robber  would  be  pun 
ished  by  the  laws  of  the  State  where  the  offence  was  committed , 
In  order  that  these  laws  may  be  executed,  each  government 
has  its  own  agents.  Thus,  there  are  judges  of  the  State  courts, 
and  judge*  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States.  The  former  have 
jurisdiction  in  cases  that  are  strictly  municipal,  or  rather  which 


352   GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

nity,  for  their  use,  it  owes  most  of  all  it  possesses  to 
the  public  grants  and  to  the  presence  of  the  ministers 
of  the  government.  With  a  view  to  force  a  town, 
establishments  have  been  formed  which  will  probably 
linger  in  a  doubtful  state  of  existence  for  a  long  time 
to  come,  if,  indeed,  they  ever  prosper.  Among 
others  is  that  of  the  Navy- Yard. 

The  village  around  the  Navy- Yard  is  the  least  im 
portant  of  the  three  which  properly  constitute  the 
community  assembled  at  Washington  Proper.  You 
will  remember  that  I  now  exclude  Georgetown  from 
this  enumeration.  It  possesses  a  different  city  gov 
ernment,  though  it  is,  in  point  of  fact,  quite  as  near 
the  centre,  or  the  President's  House,  as  the  Capitol. 
Alexandria,  a  little  city,  also,  of  about  9000  inhabit- 

are  confined  to  their  respective  States,  and  the  latter  in  cases 
which  arise  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  in  cases  in 
which  the  citizens  of  different  States  are  parties.  This  latter 
power  of  the  courts  of  the  general  government  is  one  of  the 
most  important  features  of  the  confederation.  It  has  a  tendency 
to  equalize  the  State  laws,  by  rendering  them  all  subject  to  the 
great  principles  of  the  constitution,  as  well  as  to  those  of  natural 
justice.  It  will  be  seen  at  once,  that  this  confederation  differs 
from  all  that  we  have  hitherto  known  by  the  complicated  nature 
of  the  action  and  re-action  between  the  people  and  their  general 
government.  It  is  much  the  same,  in  fact,  as  if  charters  were 
given  to  certain  towns,  in  a  constitutional  government,  whether 
monarchical  or  not,  under  favour  of  which  the  inhabitants  of 
those  towns  were  authorized  to  enact  certain  laws  for  their  own 
private  convenience,  while  they  continued  subject  at  the  same 
time  to  the  general  laws  of  the  empire.  The  theory  is  cer 
tainly  different;  for  here  the  power  which  belongs  to  the  gen 
eral  government,  is  a  concession  from  the  particular  States, 
whereas,  in  the  other  case,  the  power  exercised  by  the  corpo 
rations  would  be  a  concession  from  the  principal  government. 
Still  the  cases  bear  so  strong  a  resemblance,  that  one  can  readily 
understand  the  nature  of  the  two  authorities  which  exist  in  this 
country.  But  we  in  Europe,  while  we  are  accustomed  to  see 
cities  and  universities,  and  even  parts  of  empires,  exercising 
this  species  of  divided  sovereignty,  have  not  been  accustomed 
to  see  them  exercising  it  to  the  extent  that  is  practised  in 
America.  The  difference  arises  from  the  common  circum 
stance,  that  the  conceding  party  has,  in  both  cases,  seen  fit  to 
retain  the  most  of  the  power  in  its  own  hands. 


NAVY-YARD.  35 

ants,  is  equally  within  the  limits  of  the  Disirict,  btf 
it  lies  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Potomac,  and  at  a 
distance  of  six  miles.  There  are  not  many  good 
houses  in  the  quarter  of  the  Navy- Yard,  and  I  should 
think  that  a  great  portion  of  its  inhabitants  are  people 
dependent  on  the  establishment  for  support.  Notwith 
standing  there  is  a  long  river  to  navigate  before  a  ship 
can  get  into  the  bays  below,  a  very  considerable  num 
ber  of  the  public  vessels  are  built  and  repaired  at  this 
spot.  Seamen,  there  are  none  at  Washington,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  there  is  no  commerce.  A  few 
ships  are,  indeed,  seen  at  the  wharfs  of  Georgetown 
and  Alexandria,  but  the  navigation  of  the  two  places 
united  is  far  less  than  that  of  most  of  the  fourth-rate 
commercial  towns  of  the  Union. 

As  the  department  of  the  navy,  and  the  board  of 
naval  commissioners,  are  both  established  at  Wash 
ington,  this  yard  may  be  of  some  service  in  the  way 
of  modelling,  and  for  the  superintendence  of  inven 
tions.  A  ship  built  here  is  said  to  cost  more  than 
one  built  in  any  of  the  more  northern  ports,  and  it  is 
therefore  plain,  that  when  the  size  of  their  marine 
shall  compel  the  Americans  to  observe  a  rigid  econ 
omy  in  its  construction,  the  relative  importance  of 
this  yard  must  cease.  It  may  long  continue  a  school 
for  experiments,  but  it  can  never  become  what  was 
once  anticipated  for  it,  a  large  and  flourishing  build 
ing  establishment. 

I  saw,  in  the  Navy-Yard  at  Washington,  the  only 
public  monument  in  commemoration  of  the  dead  that 
I  could  find  in  the  city,  unless  a  few  simple  stones, 
erected  around  the  graves  of  members  of  Congress, 
who  have  died  while  here  in  the  discharge  of  theii 
official  duties,  can  be  so  termed.  This  little  monu 
ment  was  erected  to  commemorate  the  deaths  of  the 
officers  who  fell  in  the  war  with  Tripoli ;  a  war  to 
which  the  United  States'  marine  owes  its  present 
high  and  merited  character.  It  is  a  simple  column. 
Hh2 


354  A  MONUMENT. 

wrought  in  Italy  at  the  expense  of  the  survivors,  and 
erected  on  this  spot  under  the  impulse  of  that  stub 
born  feeling  of  independence  which  distinguishes  this 
people.  The  high-spirited  contributors  to  the  little 
work,  thought  the  Congress  did  not  pay  a  suitable 
respect  to  their  petition  for  a  site  in  a  more  public 
situation.  They  were  masters  of  the  Navy- Yard, 
and  in  disgust  they  caused  their  modest  memorial  to 
be  put  up  in  the  centre  of  its  area.  It  may  be  doubt 
ed,  after  all,  if  any  other  situation  so  appropriate,  or 
so  touching,  could  have  been  found.  This  monument 
has  received  some  injury,  by  having  one  or  two  of  its 
ornamental  figures  broken.  On  one  of  its  sides  I  read 
the  following  inscription :  "  Mutilated  by  Britons, 
August,  1814."  This  was  the  date  of  the  inroad  of 
the  English. 

Now  it  struck  me  that  this  inscription  was  in  sin 
gularly  bad  taste.  The  incursion  of  General  Ross 
was  not  an  affair  in  which  either  party  should  exult. 
It  was  no  extraordinary  military  achievement  for 
four  or  five  thousand  highly  disciplined  troops,  to  land 
under  the  protection  of  an  overwhelming  naval  force,* 
and  to  make  a  forced  march,  for  a  few  days,  through 
a  perfectly  defenceless,  and  nearly  uninhabited  coun 
try  ;  to  attack  and  disperse  a  hastily  assembled  body 
of  armed  citizens,  who  were  but  little,  if  any,  superior 
to  them  in  numbers ;  to  enter  a  line  of  straggling  vil 
lages  ;  to  remain  one  night,  and  then  to  retreat  at  a 
rate  that  was  quite  as  precipitate  as  their  advance. 
Perhaps  it  was  not  bad  policy,  in  the  abstract,  for  a 
people  who  possessed  the  advantages  of  the  British, 
to  take  this  means  of  harassing  their  enemy.  But  I 
doubt  the  policy,  in  a  nation  situated  precisely  as 
England  was  and  is,  of  proving  so  practically  to  a 
nation  with  the  spirit,  the  resources,  maritime  char- 


*  The  frigates  ascended  the  river  to  Alexandria. 


BAD    TASTE.  355 

acter,  and  prospects  of  this,  that  a  powerful  navy  is 
so  absolutely  necessary  to  defend  their  coast.  The 
use  that  was  made  of  the  success,  too,  might  admit 
of  some  cavilling.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Amer 
icans  fell  so  far  short  in  their  defence  of  what  even 
the  case  admitted,  and  so  very  far  short  of  what,  even 
under  less  propitious  circumstances,  they  themselves 
effected  at  New-Orleans,  that  wisdom  would  pre 
scribe  silence  as  the  better  course.  It  is  permitted 
for  the  defenders  of  Bunker's  hill  to  allude  to  their 
defeat,  but  the  chisel  of  the  Americans  should  have 
been  industriously  employed  to  erase  every  vestige 
of,  and  not  to  commemorate,  even  thus  indirectly,  the 
occupation  of  their  capital  by  an  enemy.  But,  even 
admitting  that  the  defence  of  the  town  had  been  quite 
equal  to  the  means  at  hand,  what  was  the  immediate 
offence  that  called  for  this  particular  punishment? 
The  English  occupied  the  Navy-Yard,  and,  although 
a  little  hurried,  they  certainly  had  time  to  have  de 
stroyed  this  small  monument,  instead  of  mutilating  it, 
by  knocking  the  heads  off  one  or  two  small  marble 
angels.  The  very  nature  of  the  injury  proves  it  was 
the  act  of  an  individual,  and  not  of  the  authority, 
which  alone  should  be  considered  responsible  for  any 
grave  national  accusation.  Cadwallader  is  of  my 
opinion,  as,  indeed,  were  half-a-dozen  naval  officers 
who  showed  us  through  the  yard.  The  Batter  said 
that  the  inscription  was  by  order  of  an  officer  of  rank, 
who  had  reasons  for  a  special  degree  of  antipathy 
against  their  late  enemy.  No  man,  especially  in  a 
country  like  this,  should  be  permitted,  however,  thus 
to  interpose  his  personal  resentments  between  a  nation 
and  its  dignity. 

It  is  more  than  a  mile  from  the  quarter  of  the  Na 
vy-Yard  to  that  of  the  Capitol.  I  have  read  accounts 
of  this  place,  which  convey  an  idea  that  it  was  lately 
a  forest,  and  that  the  wood  had  been  felled  in  order 
to  make  a  space  to  receive  the  town.  There  is  some 


356  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  VICINITY. 

error  in  this  impression.  Most  of  the  country,  for 
miles  around  Washington,  was  early  devoted  to  the 
growth  of  tobacco.  It  is  a  baneful  consequence  of 
the  cultivation  of  this  weed,  that,  for  a  long  time,  it 
destroys  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Thus,  one  sees  vast 
fields  here,  which  wear  the  appearance  of  neglected 
heaths.  A  growth  of  low,  stunted,  dwarfish  trees 
succeeds  in  time,  and  bushes  must,  of  course,  first 
make  their  appearance.  I  could  see  no  traces  of 
wood  in  any  part  of  this  city,  nor  for  some  distance 
around  it,  though  it  is  not  improbable  that  some 
copses  of  a  second  growth  did  exist  at  the  time  the 
plan  was  formed.  All  I  mean  to  say  is,  that  the  vi 
cinity  of  the  Capitol  has  rather  the  appearance  of  an 
old  and  an  exhausted,  than  of  what  is  here  called  a 
new  country.  A  great  deal  of  the  land  in  and  about 
the  town  is  not  fenced,  and  the  whole  appearance  of 
the  place  is  that  produced  by  the  separate  villages  I 
have  described,  lying  on  a  great  heath,  which  is  be 
ginning  to  be  cultivated,  and  whose  surface  is  irregu 
larly  waving.  The  avenues  in  those  parts  which  are 
not  built,  consequently,  cross  these  open  fields,  and 
the  view  is  perfectly  unobstructed  on  every  side. 

The  quarter  of  the  Capitol  stands  on  elevated 
ground,  and  is  certainly  the  most  picturesque  portion 
of  the  city  proper.  The  Capitol  itself  is  placed  on 
the  brow  of  a  considerable  declivity,  and  commands 
a  noble  view.  There  is  something  exceedingly  im 
posing  in  the  aspect  of  this  building,  with  its  power 
ful  accessories  of  scenery  and  of  moral  association. 
I  shall  beg  your  patience  while  I  attempt  an  imper 
fect  description. 

The  edifice  is  of  a  light  greyish  freestone.  It  has 
been  found  necessary  to  paint  it  white,  in  order  to 
conceal  the  marks  of  the  smoke  left  by  the  conflagra 
tion  of  1 8 1 4.  This  is  in  better  taste  than  the  inscrip 
tion  on  the  monument.  The  effect  of  a  clear,  brilliant 
white,  under  so  fine  a  sun,  is  in  itself  exceedingly 


THE    CAPITOL ITS    DEFECTS.  357 

striking.  The  antiquarian  may  riot  in  the  rust,  but 
every  plain-viewing  man  sees  that  the  coin  is  never 
so  beautiful  as  when  it  is  new  from  the  mint.  This 
freshness  of  air  is  rather  a  peculiarity  throughout  most 
of  the  United  States,  and  it  is  exactly  the  appearance 
the  country  should  wear  in  order  to  be  in  keeping 
with  its  recollections. 

The  Capitol  is  composed  of  a  centre  and  two 
wings.  The  former  is  something  more  than  150  feet 
square,  or  nearly  square,  and  the  latter  are  each  just 
100.  The  several  parts  are  in  a  line  on  the  eastern 
front,  and  consequently  the  wings  are  thrown  back 
on  the  western.  This  irregularity  of  the  western  fa- 
qade  is  a  great  defect:  it  impairs  the  unity,  and  con 
sequently  the  majesty,  of  the  edifice.  There  are  too 
many  angles,  those  fatal  blots  on  the  beauty  of  archi 
tecture.  There  is  another  serious  defect  in  the  build 
ing  as  seen  from  the  west:  the  centre  is  not  only  a 
story  higher,  but  it  is  also  a  story  lower  than  the  wings. 
On  this  side  the  edifice  stands  on  the  brow  of  the  hill. 
In  order  to  profit  by  the  formation  of  the  ground,  a 
basement,  which  is  below  the  level  of  the  earth  to 
the  east,  but  not  to  the  west,  has  been  constructed 
beneath  the  centre.  But  this  basement  necessarily 
comes  into  the  view  ;  and  the  fact  of  its  being  painted 
white,  coupled  with  its  airy  situation,  gives  the  whole 
construction  the  air  of  a  mighty  ostrich  which  is  just 
extending  its  little  wings  from  the  centre  of  a  clumsy 
body,  not  to  fly,  but  to  scud  across  the  plain  beneath. 
The  effect  of  a  fine  colonnade  is  much  weakened  by 
this  substructure  of  the  edifice.  But  you,  who  have 
so  often  seen  the  Louvre,  can  understand  how  easy 
it  is  to  give  the  basement  too  much  importance  in  a 
building ;  and  you,  too,  who  know  the  Garde  Meuble 
so  well,  must  be  sensible  of  the  fine  effect  of  a  judi 
cious  observance  of  the  proper  proportions.  Some 
plan  is  in  agitation  to  conceal  this  superabundance  of 
foundation ;  but  it  is  rare  indeed  that  a  capital  defect 


358  ITS    BEAUTIES PLAN   OF   THE   CITY. 

in  a  building  is  successfully  repaired  by  any  second 
hand  expedients. 

The  eastern  front  of  the  Capitol  promises  to  be 
beautiful :  it  possesses  unity  of  design,  perfect  sirn* 
plicity  of  outline,  and  a  noble  colonnade.  As  it  is 
not,  however,  yet  completed,  it  would  be  premature 
to  pronounce  with  confidence  on  its  final  appearance. 
The  building  stands  in  a  spacious  inclosure,  which  is 
itself  nearly  surrounded  by  houses.  These  dwellings 
are  of  bricks,  three  stories  high,  and  decent,  without 
being  in  the  least  elegant.  Much  the  greater  part  of 
them  are  occupied  as  lodging-houses  for  the  members 
during  the  session.  There  are  also  a  few  short  streets 
built  about  the  Capitol. 

You  will  have  understood  that  the  plan  of  the  city 
is  that  of  an  infinite  number  of  wide  streets  inter 
secting  each  other  at  right  angles,  and  which,  in 
their  turn,  are  obliquely  intersected  by  sundry  great 
avenues,  which  are  intended  to  shorten  the  distances 
between  the  more  important  points,  and,  I  presume, 
to  beautify  the  city.  Several  of  these  avenues  diverge 
from  the  Capitol  square,  like  radii  from  a  common 
centre.  They  are  called  after  the  different  States. 
One,  the  Pennsylvania  Avenue, is  the  principal  street 
of  Washington.  Standing  at  the  Capitol,  the  view 
along  this  avenue  is  somewhat  striking.  It  is  built 
on  more  than  one-half  of  its  whole  length,  and  it  is 
terminated  by  an  oblique  view  of  the  President's 
House.  You  will  bear  in  mind,  that  as  very  few  of 
the  dwellings  on  this  avenue  approach,  the  Capitol, 
they  form  part  of  another  quarter.  Still,  paved  walks 
and  a  few  scattered  buildings,  serve  to  give  them 
something  of  the  air  of  beginning  to  belong  to  the 
same  town. 

The  quarter  of  the  President's  House  is  less  compact 
and  more  populous  than  either  of  the  four.  It  forms, 
properly,  the  heart  of  the  city.  It  approaches  to 
wards  Georgetown  on  one  side,  and  the  Capitol  on 


BUILDINGS,    AIR    OF    TOWN,    ETC.  359 

the  other,  without  absolutely  joining  either.  A  few 
of  the  streets  have  the  air  of  a  town,  though  there  is 
in  every  part  of  this  place  a  striking  disproportion.!!! 
magnitude  between  the  «treets  and  the  houses.  In 
order  to  produce  the  effect  intended,  the  buildings  on 
the  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  for  example,  should  be  of  six 
or  seven  stories,  whereas  in  fact  they  are  some  such 
houses  as  one  sees  in  an  English  country  town.  An 
other  striking  defect  in  the  plan  is  also  made  manifest 
by  the  waste  of  room  on  this  avenue.  As  the  avenues 
cross  the  streets  obliquely,  it  is  plain  the  points  of 
intersection  must  make  a  vast  number  of  acute  angles, 
There  is  always  on  one  side  of  each  street,  between 
that  street  and  the  avenue,  a  gore  of  land  that  is  so  n ar 
row  that  it  will  never  be  built  on  until  real  estate  shall 
get  to  be  far  more  valuable  than  it  is  likely  soon  to 
become  here.  Consequently  the  distances  are  un 
necessarily  increased,  and  by  this  means,  and  its  four 
different  quarters,  Washington  has  all  the  inconve 
nience  of  an  immense  town,  without  any,  or  scarcely 
any,  of  its  counterbalancing  conveniences. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  any  thing  more  of  George 
town,  which  is  a  well-built,  clean,  and  rather  pretty 
town.  The  avenues  between  this  place  and  the  Navy- 
Yard,  a  distance  of  near  five  miles,  are  like  so  much 
grande  route  which  runs  through  a  little  cultivated, 
but  open  country,  on  which  stands  one  straggling  town, 
and  a  village,  and  which  terminates  in  a  cluster  of 
houses.  The  buildings  of  the  towns,  or  villages,  on 
the  route,  are  much  like  those  of  other  small  towns, 
with  the  exception  of  the  public  edifices,  which  are 
like  those  one  sees  in  a  city.  If  you  can  reconcile  all 
these  contradictions,  you  may  get  a  tolerably  accurate 
notion  of  the  capital  of  the  United  States  of  America 
You  will  recollect  that  the  whole  population  of  the 
place,  or  places,  (Georgetown  included,)  is  about 
25,000  souls.  The  whole  district,  Alexandria  in 
eluded,  contains  40,000.  * 


360  PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE. 

The  President's  House  is  a  neat,  chaste  building, 
of  the  Ionic  order,  built  of  the  same  material,  and 
painted  like  the  Capitol.  It  stands  on  a  public 
square,  and  in  a  considerable  garden,  and  is  one 
hundred  and  seventy  feet  in  length,  by  eighty-five  in 
breadth.  In  a  parallel  line  with  one  of  its  fronts, 
though  a  little  in  advance,  stand  the  offices  of  the  four 
great  departments.  They  are  large  buildings  of  brick, 
and  are  placed  in  pairs,  on  each  side  of  the  "  white 
house,"  one  in  front  of  the  other,  having  open  courts 
between  them.  The  two  most  in  advance  have  plain 
colonnades,  but  the  other  two  are  as  naked  as  can  be. 
Besides  these  buildings  there  are  one  or  two  more  in 
a  distant  part  of  this  straggling  quarter,  which  merit 
no  particular  description. 


TO  THE  ABBATE  GIROMACHI. 


Washington, 

MY  attention,  after  our  arrival  at  this  place,  was 
early  called  to  the  great  body,  which  was  about  to 
assemble.  We  had  taken  a  little  suite  of  rooms  in  a 
lodging-house,  or  rather  tavern,  which  soon  began  to 
fill  with  members  of  Congress  from  all  quarters  of  the 
country.  Perhaps  of  the  whole  legislative  corps  of 
the  country,  there  is  not  a  single  individual  who  is 
the  proprietor  of  a  dwelling  at  the  seat  of  govern 
ment.  Those  who  are  of  sufficient  estate  to  main 
tain  two  houses,  have  their  town  residences  in  the 
capitals  of  their  own  particular  States,  though  a  very 
large  majority  of  the  members  are  far  from  being  men 


MANNER    OF    LIVING.  3(51 

of  large  fortunes  at  all.*  There  are  a  few  individuals 
who  appear  at  the  capital  with  their  wives  ami 
families,  but  by  far  the  greater  part  of  those  who  have 
them,  leave  them  at  home.  The  common  practice 
is,  for  a  certain  number  of  the  members  who  are  ac 
quainted  with  each  other,  to  make  what  is  called  a 
"  mess,"  at  some  chosen  boarding-house.  Here  they 
reside  together,  during  the  session,  like  the  members 
of  one  large  family.  Even  ladies  are  often  included 
in  these  arrangements.  Others  again  choose  to  live 
entirely  secluded  :  and,  in  some  few  instances,  fam 
ilies  keep  their  regular  winter  establishments,  in  such 
narrow  accommodations  as  the  place  affords.  The 
fact  that  a  member  is  so  completely  dependent  on  the 
public  will,  for  his  election,  is  enough  in  itself  to 
prevent  any  one  but  a  man  of  very  large  estate  from 
incurring  the  expense  of  building  on  so  uncertain  a 
tenure. 

A  member  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  is,  in 
fact,  what  the  office  professes  to  be,  a  representative 
of  the  people.  It  is  not  pretended  that  he  should  be, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  a  gentleman,  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  term.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  very 
commonly  a  plain,  though  always  a  respectable  yeo 
man,  and  not  unfrequently  a  mechanic.  I  remember 
to  have  passed  a  night,  in  one  of  the  northern  States, 
in  a  very  good,  cleanly,  cheap  and  comfortable  inn, 
whose  master  was  a  member  of  the  lower  house.  In 
the  southern  States,  where  the  white  men  of  smaller 
fortunes  are  by  no  means  of  so  elevated  a  character 
as  their  brethren  of  the  north,  a  choice  from  the 
middling  classes  rarely  happens  ;  but  from  the  more 
northern,  eastern,  and  north-western  States,  such 
selections  are  by  no  means  uncommon. 

*  Does  net  this  fact  go  to  confirm  the  opinion  of  Cadwallader, 
that  frugality  in  the  public  expenditure  of  a  country,  is  by  nc 
means  a  necessary  consequence  of  power  resting  in  the  hands  of 
the  comparatively  poor? 

li 


362  THE    CONGRESS. 

TVhen  Cadwallader  first  directed  my  attention  to 
this  fact,  I  confess  a  little  surprise  entered  into  my 
view  of  the  composition  of  the  American  legislature. 
Perhaps  the  circumstance  of  so  material  a  difference 
between  the  Congress  and  the  British  Parliament  was 
at  the  bottom  of  my  wonder ;  for  we  in  Europe  are 
perhaps  a  little  too  apt  to  try  all  experiments  in  liberty  > 
by  those  which  England  has  so  long  practised  with 
such  comparative  success.  I  alluded,  a  little  freely, 
to  the  circumstance  of  their  having  so  far  departed 
from  the  practice  of  the  mother  country,  with  a  view 
of  extracting  an  opinion  on  the  subject  from  my  com 
panion.  The  plan  was  successful. 

"  If  departure  from  the  policy  of  our  ancestors  is 
to  create  your  wonder,  the  feeling  should  be  neither 
new  nor  trifling,  What  we  do  now,  in  this  particular, 
we  have  practised,  not  only  without  inconvenience, 
but  with  signal  success,  for  near  seven  generations. 
The  representation  under  the  crown  differed  but 
little  from  that  of  the  present  day.  It  is,  in  truth,  a 
representation  ;  and  the  surprise  should  be,  not  that 
the  people  choose  so  many  men  of  a  situation  in  life 
closely  resembling  that  of  the  majority,  but  rather 
that  they  choose  so  few.  There  is  a  practical  good 
sense  in  the  mass  of  the  community,  here,  that  tells 
them  a  certain  degree  of  intelligence  and  of  respect' 
ability  of  character  is  needed  in  a  representative  of 
the  nation.  No  one  will  deny  that  they  sometimes 
deceive  themselves,  but,  on  the  whole,  they  are  suffi 
ciently  critical.  For  native  talent,  practical  intelli 
gence,  moral  character,  and  political  honesty,  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  need  not  dread  a  com 
parison  with  the  legislature  of  any  other  country.  I 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  they  are  perfect,  but  I  am 
quite  certain,  from  tolerably  close  observation,  that 
they  do  as  much  good  and  as  little  harm  as  any  other 
similar  body  in  the  world. 

"He  who  enters  the  halls  of  Congress,  expecting 


REASONS  FOR  ITS  PRESENT  CHARACTER.          363 

to  find  the  same  conventional  finish  of  personal  de 
portment,  or  the  same  degree  of  education,  as  he  will 
find  in  the  British  Parliament,  or  in  the  French 
Chambers,  enters  it  under  a  gross  misconception  of 
the  nature  of  its  organization.  But  he  who  enters 
either  of  the  two  foreign  legislative  bodies  I  have 
named,  expecting  to  meet  with  the  same  useful  and 
practical  knowledge  of  life,  in  those  details  on  which  a 
legislator  is  called  every  hour  to  act,  the  same  degree 
of  native  capacity,  or  even  the  same  aptitude  of  ap 
plying  the  great  principles  of  government  to  their 
direct  and  desirable  uses,  will  fall  into  an  error  quite 
as  gross.  We  have  men,  and  very  many  men,  in  our 
legislature,  that  may  be  safely  placed  at  the  side  of 
the  most  eminent  politicians  of  Europe  ;  and  perhaps 
no  people  in  the  world  could  more  easily  fill  every 
chair  on  the  floors  of  the  two  houses  with  represen 
tatives  who,  by  their  intelligence,  practical  know 
ledge,  independence,  and  honesty,  would  do  high 
credit  to  a  nation,  than  ourselves.  But  there  are 
many  reasons  why  we  do  not.  The  first,  and  the 
most  important  of  all,  is,  that  we  have  happily  got 
the  country  into  that  onward  movement,  that  there 
is  little  or  no  occasion  for  legislative  impulses.  As  a 
rule,  besides  the  ordinary  grants  of  money,  and  the 
usual  watchfulness  over  the  proceedings  of  the  exec 
utive,  the  less  they  do  the  better.  We  find  it  useful  to 
place  the  check  of  plain  men,  with  moderated  views 
of  life,  on  the  speculations  of  educated  theorists. 
Besides,  every  class  of  society  has  its  interests,  and 
it  is  proper  that  they  should  have  their  representation. 
It  is  certainly  true,  that  many  members  of  Congress 
sometimes  believe  it  necessary  to  yield  to  the  mis 
taken  prejudices  of  a  majority  of  their  constituents ; 
but  it  may  be  well  questioned,  whether  as  much  evil 
to  the  community  results  from  this  pliancy,  as  from 
that  which  obeys  the  beck  of  a  minister.  In  America, 
we  have  some  of  the  former  and  none  of  the  latter , 


364  FACILITY    FOR    CHANGE. 

in  Europe,  you  have  a  great  deal  of  the  latter,  and 
none  of  the  former.  Now,  in  the  United  States,  if 
the  mistake  of  the  people  entails  inconvenience  on 
themselves,  they  are  sure  to  get  rid  of  it ;  but  I  am 
yet  to  learn  in  what  manner  you  dispose  of  a  blunder, 
or  of  an  intentional  innovation,  of  a  minister.  You 
must  always  remember  that  we  claim  no  perfection; 
it  is  not  a  quality  of  earth.  All  we  wish  to  maintain 
is,  that  our  system  is  the  best  known,  and  perhaps 
the  best  practicable;  but  if  you  will  show  us  a  better, 
we  will  adopt  it.  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd,  than 
to  accuse  almost  the  only  nation  on  the  earth  that  is 
constantly  endeavouring  to  amend  its  institutions,  of 
a  besotted  opinion  of  its  own  immaculate  wisdom.  I 
know  you  will  say,  that  changes  are  frequently  dan 
gerous,  and  that  they  too  often  lead  to  evil.  Now, 
I  am  not  at  all  disposed  to  deny  that  you  are  partially 
right  as  respects  yourselves ;  but  we  know  that  we 
can  improve,  or  even  afford  to  deteriorate  a  little, 
without  much  danger ;  and  therein  we  think  we  have 
no  small  advantage  over  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  If 
you  doubt  the  fact,  compare  our  actual  situation,  the 
past,  and  what  we  have  done  and  are  doing,  with 
what  other  governments  have  done  and  are  about, 
and  let  the  result  speak  for  itself. 

"  You  will  see  on  the  floors  of  Congress  men  be 
longing  to  every  condition  of  society  known  to  our 
community,  with  the  exception  of  that  which  neces 
sarily  infers  great  ignorance  and  vulgarity.  All  the 
members  are  respectable,  and  very  many  of  them 
are  gentlemen.  There  are  some  who  are  scholars, 
and  not  a  few  have  been  improved  by  travel  and  by 
observation  of  other  countries.  A  remote  frontier 
district,  however,  must  send  such  men  as  it  possesses, 
or  trust  its  peculiar  interests  tc  those  who  have  but 
little  concern  in  its  welfare.  The  Senate  is,  in  some 
respects,  rather  more  select  than  the  lower  house 
because  their  constituents  have  a  State  instead  of  a 


THE  CONGRESS.  365 

district  to  choose  from,  and  because  that  body  is  ex 
pected  to  temper  the  proceedings  of  legislation  with 
a  peculiar  degree  of  moderation  and  dignity. 

"  In  the  British  Parliament  there  is  some  show  of 
this  universality  of  representation.  Certain  corpora 
tions  send  men  of  their  own  stamp  ;  but  in  England 
every  thing  has  a  tendency  to  aristocracy,  while,  in 
this  country,  every  thing  which  pertains  to  the  gov 
ernment  must  seek  its  support  in  the  democracy.  The 
"  worthy  alderman,"  who  may  have  commenced  life 
behind  a  counter,  endeavours  to  forget  his  apron 
when  he  takes  his  seat  on  the  opposition  benches. 
Instead  of  returning  to  his  shop  when  the  session  is 
ended,  he  becomes  a  deserter  to  aristocracy,  the  mo 
ment  he  has  received  the  seal  of  office  from  the  peo 
ple.  How  far  he  may  contribute  to  the  boasted  re 
finement  of  the  higher  classes,  I  cannot  pretend  to 
say ;  but  it  is  certain  that  he  does  not,  like  his 
American  prototype,  assist  to  give  respectability  and 
elevation  to  that  of  which  he  was  originally  a  mem 
ber.  It  is  this  elevation  of  character  among  the  mid 
dling,  and  even  among  the  more  inferior  classes  of 
our  community,  which  chiefly  distinguishes  us  from 
all  other  nations.  Europe  must  show  a  population 
as  much  accustomed  to  political  power,  as  moderate 
in  its  exercise,  as  practised  in  all  that  controls  the 
general  interests  of  life,  and  as  shrewd  in  their  esti 
mate  of  character,  as  this  of  ours,  before  she  should 
pretend  to  infer  the  results  of  democratic  institutions 
by  any  facts  drawn  from  her  own  experience.  We  do 
not  deny  the  universality  of  human  impulses,  we 
only  insist  that  governments  have  not  the  habit  of 
giving  them  fair  play.  The  two  houses  of  Congress 
are,  and  ever  have  been,  living  proofs  that  the  major 
ity  of  men  are  not  disposed  to  abuse  power  when  it 
is  once  fairly  intrusted  to  them.  There  is  not  a 
doubt  that  the  comparatively  poor  and  ignorant  might 
fill  all  our  legislative  chairs  with  men  of  their  own 


366  INTERIOR  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

class,  and  yet  they  rather  take  pride  in  s(  eing  the 
representation  respectable  for  information.  Some 
part  of  this  seeming  generosity  is,  no  doubt,  owing 
to  the  superior  influence  of  intelligence ;  but  you 
must  allow  there  is  a  prospect  of  quiet  and  dura 
bility  under  a  system  in  which  the  majority  find 
no  reason  to  complain,  and  in  which  the  minority 
must  see  the  folly  of  usurpation.  But  as  the  two 
houses  are  by  this  time  organized,  we  will  go  to 
the  Capitol,  and  hear  the  message.  When  on  the 
spot,  I  will  endeavour  to  direct  your  attention  to 
such  individuals  as  may  serve  to  elucidate  what  you 
have  just  heard." 

We  proceeded  to  the  Capitol  in  a  coach.  Alight 
ing  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  we  mounted  it  to  a  door  on 
the  western  facade,  and  entered  the  edifice  through 
its  substratum.  Passing  among  a  multitude  of  eating 
rooms,  &c.  &c.,  we  ascended,  by  a  noble  flight  of 
massive  steps,  to  the  true  basement,  or  to  that  story 
which  runs  through  the  whole  building.  Directly 
under  the  dome  is  a  gloomy  vaulted  hall,  that  I  have 
heard  called  the  "  caucus  ;"  more,  I  believe,  from  its 
fancied  fitness  for  the  political  meetings  that  are  thus 
termed,  than  from  the  fact  that  it  has  ever  actually 
been  appropriated  to  such  an  use.  It  has  the  air, 
however,  of  being  admirably  adapted  to  the  pur 
poses  of  a  secret  conclave,  though,  in  truth,  it  is  a 
common  thoroughfare  of  the  building.  Immediately 
above  the  "  caucus  "  is  the  principal  hall.  It  is  cir 
cular,  large,  high,  and  covered  with  a  fine  dome. 
There  is  not  much  richness  in  the  ornaments  of  this 
hall,  though  it  is  sufficiently  wrought  to  prevent  the 
appearance  of  nakedness.  It  contains,  among  other 
things,  four  bas-reliefs  in  stone,  which  are  intended 
to  illustrate  as  many  of  the  most  striking  incidents  in 
the  original  settlement  of  the  country.*  I  have  no 

*  The  writer  is  himself  but  a  traveller,  and  he  should,  there 
fore,  speak  reverently  of  the  craft.     But  he  will  seize  this  occa- 


ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  GREAT  HALL.       367 

disposition  to  criticise  their  execution.  Historical 
pictures  are  to  be  placed  in  the  panels  beneath. 

From  the  great  hall  we  passed  into  that  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  My  friend  was  formerly  a 
member,  and  by  an  usage  he  is  permitted  to  enter  the 
body  of  the  chamber,  or  rather  to  occupy  a  seat  that 
is  only  separated  from  those  of  the  actual  members 
by  a  slight  division.  Under  his  auspices,  and  by  the 
aid  of  a  little  interest,  I  was  permitted  to  be  his 
companion. 

The  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  with 
out  being  particularly  rich,  or  highly  wrought,  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  apartments  I  have  ever  en 
tered.  The  form  is  semicircular.  It  is  lighted  from 
above,  and  from  windows  on  its  straight  side.  Be 
tween  these  windows  and  the  body  of  the  hall,  is  a 
sort  of  lobby  or  gallery,  which  is  separated  from  the 
other  parts  by  a  colonnade.  Here  the  members  and 
privileged  persons  promenade.,  converse,  stand,  listen, 
or  repose,  without,  in  fact,  quitting  the  room.  It  is 


eion  to  express  his  surprise  at  the  very  different  view  which  he 
has  taken  of  visible  objects  from  those  of  some  others  of  the 
class,  who,  like  himself,  have  been  pleased  to  put  their  observa 
tions  before  the  world.  In  the  "  Personal  Narrative  of  Lieuten 
ant  the  Honourable  Frederic  de  Roos,"  p.  15,  is  the  following 
sentence,  while  speaking  of  the  apartment  just  named:  "The 
walls  are  destitute  of  ornament,  if  we  except  some  pieces  of 
sculpture,  representing  various  wars  and  treaties  with  the  In 
dians.  The  artist  might  have  selected  subjects  more  creditable 
to  his  country."  Now,  if  the  writer  has  not  been  greatly  de 
ceived,  these  four  bas-reliefs  are  on  the  following  subjects  :  the 
landing  of  the  pilgrims  on  the  Rock  of  Plymouth;  the  Treaty 
of  William  Penn  with  the  natives  for  the  possession  of  their 
eoil ;  the  beautiful  and  touching  story  of  Pocahontas  saving  the 
life  of  Captain  Smith,  and  a  personal  rencontre  of  Colonel 
Boon,  the  patriarch  of  Kentucky,  with  the  savages.  These  are 
four  distinct  historical  events,  which  are  connected  with  the  set 
tlement  of  the  four  principal  parts  of  the  Union.  More  illustri 
ous  incidents  might  have  been  chosen,  beyond  a  doubt:  but 
there  is  certainly  nothing  discreditable  to  the  American  charac 
ter  in  those  they  have  selected  for  this  pui  pose. 


368  HALL  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

sufficiently  withdrawn  to  prevent  the  appearance  of 
disorder,  and  yet  near  enough  to  render  the  debates 
audible. 

In  the  centre  of  the  diameter  which  cuts  the  circle 
is  the  Speaker's  chair.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  little  sofa,  suf 
ficiently  large  to  hold,  on  occasion,  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and 
the  Speaker.  Immediately  in  front,  and  four  or  five 
feet  lower,  is  a  chair  for  the  presiding  member,  when 
the  house  acts  as  a  committee.  On  a  line  with  the 
Speaker  the  clerks  have  their  places.  In  front  of  the 
chair  there  is  a  vacant  semicircular  space  of  perhaps 
five-and-twenty  feet  in  diameter.  Then  the  seats  of 
the  members  commence.  They  are  arranged  in  semi 
circular  rows,  preserving  the  form  of  the  exterior 
walls,  and  are  separated  by  a  great  number  of  little 
openings,  to  admit  of  a  passage  between  them.  Each 
member  has  an  arm-chair  and  a  low  desk,  in  mahog 
any.  In  the  first  row,  they  sit  in  pairs,  or  there  is  a 
vacant  space  between  every  two,  and  each  successive 
row  increases  its  number  by  one  member.  Thus,  in 
the  last  row,  some  six  or  seven  are  placed  side  by 
side,  as  on  a  bench  (though  actually  on  chairs),  while 
those  in  front  are  in  pairs.  The  practice  is  for  those 
who  arrive  first  to  choose  their  seats,  and  the  choice 
is  invariably  respected. 

There  is  no  such  thing  known  as  a  political  division 
of  seats.  Members  of  the  same  politics  certainly 
often  choose  to  be  placed  near  to  each  other,  and 
sometimes  the  entire  representation  of  a  particular 
State  is  to  be  seen  as  near  together  as  possible.  But 
there  is  no  rule  in  the  matter. 

The  seats  of  the  members  are  separated  from  the 
semicircular  passage  in  which  Cadwallader  and  my 
self  were  placed,  by  no  other  division  than  a  low  rail 
ing.  Sofas  lined  the  whole  of  the  exterior  wall :  and 
as  the  floor  rises  a  little  from  the  centre,  or  the  area 
in  front  of  the  Speaker,  we  had  the  best  possible  op- 


AGE,  ETC.  OF   THE  MEMBERS.  369 

portunity  for  seeing  and  hearing.  A  spacious  and 
commodious  gallery,  of  the  same  form  as  the  hall 
completed  the  outline  of  the  apartment.  It  was 
raised  several  feet  above  the  level  of  the  chamber, 
and  is  intended  for  the  use  of  spectators. 

The  house  was  organized  when  we  entered,  and 
was  engaged  in  some  business  of  form.  Nearly  all 
the  seats  were  occupied ;  and,  as  the  message  was 
expected,  the  gallery  was  crowded  with  ladies  and 
well-dressed  men.  The  privileged  places  around  the 
floor  of  the  hall  were  nearly  all  filled.  The  Speaker 
was  uncovered,  but  most  of  the  members  wore  their 
hats.  No  one  appeared  in  costume,  nor  is  there  any 
official  dress  prescribed  to  the  members  of  Congress 
for  any  ceremony  whatever. 

After  what  Cad  wall  ader  had  told  me  of  the  true 
character  of  the  representation  of  his  country,  I  con 
fess  I  was  rather  surprised  with  the  appearance  of 
the  individuals  who  composed  this  assembly.  It  was 
to  be  expected  that  they  should  all  be  well  attired, 
but,  on  the  whole,  with  some  very  few  exceptions, 
they  had  quite  as  much  the  air  of  the  world  about 
them  as  those  who  compose  the  chambers  of  the  two 
first  nations  of  Europe.  No  one  is  allowed  to  sit  in 
the  lower  house  who  has  not  attained  the  age  of  five- 
and-twenty;  but,  in  point  of  fact,  there  is  not,  proba 
bly,  a  single  member  of  Congress  who  has  seen  less 
than  thirty  years.  The  greater  number  seemed  to 
be  men  between  the  ages  of  thirty -five  and  fifty-five. 
There  were  but  very  few  who  could  be  termed  old. 
All,  or  very  nearly  all,  were  natives  of  the  country. 

I  was  struck  with  the  simple  but  imposing  aspect 
of  this  assembly.  Though  so  totally  destitute  of  any 
personal  decorations,  the  beauty  of  the  hall,  with  its 
magnificent  row  of  massive  columns,*  the  great  neat- 


*  The  roof  of  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  is  sup 
ported  by  a  noble  semicircle  of  columns  of  pudding-stone.  They 


370  A  MESSAGE  FROM  THE  PRESIDENT. 

ness  of  the  fauteuil  and  desks,  the  beautifully  carpeted 
floors,  and  the  long  range  of  sofas,  serve  to  relieve  a 
scene  that  might  otherwise  have  been  too  naked.  It 
appeared  as  if  the  members  had  said,  thus  much  may 
you  do  for  the  benefit  of  comfort,  for  the  encourage 
ment  of  the  arts,  and,  perhaps,  as  a  testimonial  of  the 
respect  due  to  the  sacred  uses  of  the  place,  but  man 
must  be  left  in  the  fullest  force  of  his  simplicity.  None 
of  the  attendants  even  wore  any  badges  of  their 
offices.  There  were  neither  swords,  chains,  collars, 
stars,  bayonets,  nor  maces,  seen  about  the  place, 
though  a  quiet,  and  order,  and  decency,  reigned  in 
the  hall  that  bespoke  the  despotic  dominion  of  that 
mighty,  though  invisible,  monarch — the  Law. 

A  discussion  on  some  question  of  order  was  getting 
to  be  a  little  general,  and  one  member  was  addressing 
the  chair  [they  speak  from  their  places,  as  in  the 
British  Parliament]  with  some  earnestness,  when  the 
principal  door  was  thrown  open,  and  an  officer  pro 
claimed  aloud,  "A  message  from  the  President." 
The  members  all  rose  in  their  places,  the  Speaker 
included,  when  a  young  gentleman  entered,  and  pass 
ed  through  the  body  of  the  house  to  the  chair.  He 
was  attired  in  a  neat  morning-dress,  and  having  placed 
his  document  in  the  hand  of  the  Speaker,  he  bowed 
and  withdrew.  It  was  then  decided  that  the  commu 
nication  should  be  read.*  There  was  much  interest 


are  highly  polished,  and  have  a  pleasing  no  less  than  a  striking 
effect. 

*  The  instances  of  a  propensity  in  Europeans  to  misconstrue 
the  political  and  moral  condition  of  the  United  States  are  num 
berless.  One  may  be  quoted  here  with  propriety.  Since  the 
return  of  the  writer  to  Europe,  he  has,  on  more  than  one  occa 
sion,  heard  the  fact  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  sends 
a  message  to  Congress,  commented  on  in  a  significant  manner 
as  if  the  circumstance  were  portentous  of  some  great  political 
change  !  "  Parliament  would  scarcely  brook  a  message"  said  an 
Englishman,  with  emphasis,  when  the  subject  was  alluded  to. 
The  writer  saw  nothing,  at  the  time,  in  the  thing  itself,  but  tho 


EUROPEAN  CONSTRUCTION  OF  AN  USAGE.         371 

to  hear  this  document,  which  always  contains  a  great 
outline  of  the  state  of  the  republic.  It  was  a  clear, 
succinct  narrative  of  what  had  been  done  in  the 
course  of  the  past  year,  of  the  condition  of  the 


most  perfect  simplicity ;  but,  determined  to  sift  the  matter  to  the 
bottom,  he  mentioned  the  subject  in  a  letter  to  his  American 
friend,  and  extracts  a  part  of  his  reply :  "  I  am  not  at  all  sur 
prised,"  said  Cadwallader,  w  that  thousands  in  Europe  should 
easily  pervert  every  possible  circumstance  into  an  evidence  of  a 
state  ef  things  which  they  rather  desire  than  seriously  expect. 
There  has  not  been  a  single  change,  however,  in  all  our  usages, 
which  goes  less  to  prove  the  justness  of  their  anticipations,  than 
the  fact  you  have  mentioned.  When  the  government,  as  it  now 
exists,  was  first  organized,  Washington  met  the  two  houses  and 
made  his  annual  communication  in  a  speech.  The  practice  had 
prevailed  in  the  colonial  legislatures.  We  have  never  been  in  a 
hurry  to  make  unnecessary  innovations.  Reform  marches  with 
a  dignified  pace — it  is  revolution  that  is  violent.  The  States 
continued  the  practice  of  the  colonies.  It  was  quite  natural  that 
the  first  Presidents  should  conform  to  existing  usages  for  a  time. 
We  have  never  been  great  sticklers  for  shadows,  though  no 
principle  is  ever  listened  to  that  is  likely  to  entail  a  disadvantage. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  men  began  to  ask  themselves,  why 
does  the  President  make  a  speech  at  the  opening  of  a  session  ? 
He  sends  messages  at  all  other  times,  and  why  not  on  this  occa 
sion  ?  The  substance  of  what  he  has  to  communicate,  can  be 
told  by  a  message  quite  as  well  as  by  a  speech.  The  amount  of 
it  all  then  is,  that  the  parade  of  a  speech  is  a  mere  matter  of  state 
and  show,  and  although  some  little  ceremony  is,  perhaps,  neces 
sary,  we  ought  to  have  as  little  as  possible,  since  common  sense, 
which  is  our  palladium,  is  always  a  sufferer  in  ceremonies.  You 
will  understand  me ;  a  state  of  society  may  exist,  in  which  it  is 
good  sense  to  adopt  ceremony,  but  such  is  not  the  case  in  the 
year  1827,  in  the  United  States  of  America.  Every  sage  physi 
cian  adapts  his  remedy  to  the  disease.  Mr.  Jefferson  dispensed 
with  speeches,  because  they  did  no  good,  and  might  do  harm  by 
drawing  us  nearer  to  the  usages  of  Europe,  when  it  is  so  often 
our  business  to  recede  from  them.  For  my  own  part,  I  think  it 
rather  better  as  it  is,  though  it  cannot  be  a  matter  of  much  mo 
ment.  It  is,  however,  odd  enough,  that  the  very  usage  which 
has  been  adopted  for  its  simplicity  and  republicanism,  should  be 
tortured  into  a  proof  of  a  directly  contrary  tendency.  It  may 
be  a  sufficient  answer  to  the  remark  of  your  English  friend, 
*  that  the  British  Parliament  would  be  apt  to  grumble  at  receiv 
ing  a  message  from  the  king,'  to  say  that  should  Congress  not 


372  MEMBERS    OF    CONGRESS. 

finances,  of  the  several  negotiations,  and  concluded 
with  a  statement  of  what  the  people  had  a  right  to 
anticipate  for  the  future. 

When  the  message  was  ended,  Cadwallader  intro 
duced  me  to  several  of  the  members  to  whom  he  was 
personally  known.  Most  of  them  were  men  of  good 
manners,  and  of  education,  though  one  or  two  were 
certainly  individuals  who  had  paid  far  more  attention 
to  the  substance  of  things  than  to  forms.  The  former 
were  of  course  of  that  class  of  society  which,  in 
Europe,  would  be  termed  the  gentry,  and  the  others 
were  probably  farmers,  if  not  mechanics.  There  was 
an  air  of  great  self-possession  and  decorum  in  the  lat 
ter  ;  nor  could  the  slightest  visible  difference  be  traced 
between  the  respect  which  they  received,  and  that 
which  their  more  polished  confederates  bestowed  on 
each  other.  A  simple,  quiet  courtesy  is  certainly  the 
tone  of  manners  in  Congress.  While  we  stood  to 
gether  in  the  lobby,  a  grave-looking,  middle-aged 
man,  of  a  slightly  rustic  air,  approached,  and  address 
ed  my  companion.  His  manner  was  manly  and  inde 
pendent,  but  at  the  same  time  decent,  and  I  think  it 
was  to  be  distinguished  by  a  shade  of  respect.  They 
shook  hands,  and  conversed  a  little  concerning  some 
questions  of  local  politics.  Promises  were  made  of 

exchanging  visits.     "  This  is  my  friend,  the ," 

said  Cadwallader;  "a  gentleman  who  is  travelling  in 
our  country."  The  stranger  saluted  me,  offering 
his  hand  with  the  utmost  simplicity.  "  If  this  gentle 
man  comes  into  our  part  of  the  country,  I  hope  to  see 
him,"  he  said,  and  soon  after  took  his  leave.  When 
he  was  gone,  I  learned  that  this  individual  was  a  mem 
ber  of  Congress  from  the  county  in  which  the  pater- 
receive  one  from  the  President  at  a  pretty  early  day  in  the  ses 
sion,  they  would  be  very  apt  to  appoint  a  committee  to  inquire 
why  he  had  forgotten  to  lay  the  state  of  the  nation  before  them. 
I  am  no  quarreller  about  terms,  and  I  leave  you  to  decide  where 
the  substance  of  things  i»  to.  he'  found^" 


MEMBERS    OF    CONGRESS.  373 

nal  estates  of  my  friend  lie ;  that  he  was  a  farmer  of 
moderate  means  and  good  character,  whom  his  fel 
low-citizens  had  sent  to  represent  them.  His  con 
stituents  might  very  possibly  have  made  a  better 
choice,  and  yet  this  man  was  not  useless,  since  he 
served  as  a  check  on  the  schemes  of  those  who  would 
be  legislating  for  effect.  A  gentleman-like  man  of 
sixty  came  next,  and  he  and  my  friend  met  as  equals 
in  all  respects,  except  that  the  latter  paid  a  slight 
deference  to  the  years  of  his  acquaintance.  I  was 
introduced.  We  touched  our  hats,  and  exchanged  a 
few  words.  The  next  day,  I  received  this  gentle 
man's  card,  and  as  soon  as  his  visit  was  returned,  an 
invitation  to  dine  in  his  private  lodgings  followed. 

This  was  Mr. ,  a  man  of  immense  hereditary 

landed  estate.  His  alliances,  fortune,  and  habits, 
(though  tempered  by  the  institutions  of  his  country,) 
are,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  the  same  as  those  of 
a  gentleman  or  nobleman  in  Europe.  His  character 
is  excellent,  and,  in  consequence,  he  is  now,  and 
may  be  to  the  day  of  his  death,  the  representative  of 
his  native  district.  Here  you  have  the  two  extremes 
of  the  representation  of  this  country — a  yeoman,  and 
a  great  proprietor  whose  income  would  put  him  on 
a  level  with  most  of  the  great  men  of  our  hemisphere. 
They  represent  no  particular  interests,  for  all  interests 
unite  to  send  them  here.  They  happen  to  please  their 
constituents,  and  the  fact  that  the  one  is  a  yeoman, 
and  the  other  a  species  of  lord  of  the  manor,  pro 
duces  no  effect  whatever.  These  men  meet  in  Con 
gress  on  terms  of  perfect  equality.  It  often  happens, 
that  a  yeoman,  possessed  of  a  vigorous  native  mind, 
has  vast  influence. 

While  quitting  the  Capitol,  two  more  members  of 
Congress  spoke  to  Cadwallader.  They  walked  with 
us  the  whole  length  of  the  avenue.  One  of  them  was 
a  man  of  a  fashionable  air,  and  of  exceedingly  good 
manners.  He  spoke  French,  dnd  we  conversed  to- 
Kk 


374  MEMBERS    OF    CONGRESS. 

gether  for  some  time  in  that  tongue.  I  found  hint 
agreeable  and  intelligent,  and  was  glad  to  perceive 
he  was  disposed  to  renew  the  interview.  But  the 
other  individual  puzzled  me  not  a  little.  In  dress 
and  externals,  he  differed  but  little  from  his  more 
agreeable  companion.  His  air,  however,  was  not 
that  of  a  man  of  the  world,  and  his  language  was  suf 
ficiently  provincial  to  be  remarked.  I  should  not 
have  taken  him  for  one  of  a  station  in  life  to  be  found 
in  such  company,  did  I  not  know  his  official  rank, 
and  were  I  not  prepared  for  the  great  admixture  of 
ordinary  American  society.  But  if  I  was  a  little  per 
plexed  by  the  provincialisms  of  this  individual,  I  was 
not  less  surprised  at  his  shrewdness  and  intelligence. 
He  used  his  words  with  great  discrimination,  and 
with  perfect  grammatical  accuracy;  and  he  spoke 
not  only  with  good  sense,  but  frequently  with  power, 
and  always  with  prodigious  clearness.  When  we 
parted,  I  again  expressed  surprise  at  the  manifest 
difference  in  manners  that  existed  between  the  two 
members. 

"You  will  begin  to  know  us  in  time,"  returned 
Cadwallader.  "  Those  men  are  both  lawyers.  He 
whose  air  and  language  are  so  unexceptionable,  is  a 
member  of  a  family  long  known  in  this  country  for 
its  importance.  You  see  he  has  not  lost,  nor  will  he 
be  likely  to  let  his  posterity  lose,  the  manners  of  the 
world.  He  is  far  from  being  rich,  nor  is  he  remark 
able  for  talent,  though  rather  clever.  Yow  find  he 
has  a  seat  in  Congress.  The  other  is  the  child  of  an 
affluent  tradesman,  who  has  given  his  son  an  educa 
tion  for  the  bar,  but  who  could  not  give  him  what  he 
had  not  himself, — a  polished  exterior.  But  he  is 
gleaning,  and,  before  he  dies,  he  will  be  in  the  way 
of  imparting  a  better  air  to  his  descendants.  In  this 
manner  is  the  whole  of  our  community  slowly  rising 
in  the  scale  of  mere  manners.  As  to  talent,  this  pro 
vincial  lawyer,  for  he  is  provincial  in  practice  as 


EXECUTIVE    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.          375 

well  as  by  birth,  has,  as  you  must  have  observed, 
enough  of  it.  He  is  a  good  man  in  Congress,  what 
ever  he  may  be  in  the  saloons.  He  has  got  the  in- 
te^igence,  and  no  small  part  of  the  feelings,  of  a  gen 
tleman  ;  he  may  never  get  the  air,  for  he  began  too 
late  for  that,  and,  like  most  men,  he  probably  affects 
to  despise  an  unattainable  advantage.  But  as  it  is 
in  nature  to  wish  for  distinction,  rely  on  it,  he  is  se 
cretly  determined  to  amend.  Perhaps  one  of  these 
parties  loses  a  little  by  the  intimate  association  which 
is  a  necessary  consequence  of  their  common  situation ; 
but  the  gradual  approximation  is,  on  the  whole,  pro 
duced  by  the  improvement  of  the  other.  In  the  great 
essentials  of  soundness  of  feeling,  morals,  and  com 
mon  sense,  they  are  quite  on  an  equality." 


TO  THE  ABBATE  GIROMACHI, 
&e.  &c. 

FLORENCE. 


Washington, 

I  HAVE  been  a  daily  visiter  at  the  Capitol.  The 
proceedings  of  the  two  houses  are  never  without  in 
terest,  since  they  control  the  entire  foreign  policy  of 
this  growing  republic,  which  is  daily  becoming  of 
more  importance  in  the  eyes  of  Christendom.  Some 
of  the  peculiar  practice  of  American  legislation  may 
be  of  interest,  and  before  I  write  of  individuals,  I  will 
attempt  a  brief  outline  of  their  forms. 

You  probably  know  already  that  the  President  of 
the  United  States  is  assisted  by  a  cabinet.  It  is  com 
posed  of  four  Secretaries,  (state,  treasury,  war,  and 
navy,)  and  of  the  Attorney-General.  As  the  President 
is  alone  answerable  for  his  proper  acts,  these  minis 


376  THE    CABINET. 

ters  have  no  further  responsibility  than  as  their  own 
individual  agency  is  concerned.  They  have  no  seats 
in  Congress,  since  the  constitution  forbids  that  any 
officer  of  the  general  government  should  oe  a  repre 
sentative  either  of  a  State  (a  Senator),  or  of  the 
people  (a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives). 
Thus,  the  judges  and  generals,  and  colonels,  of  which 
one  reads  in  Congress,  are  not  officers  of  the  United 
States,  but  of  the  States  themselves.  The  difference 
is  material,  since  the  authorities  by  whom  they  are 
commissioned  have  no  power  over  the  measures  on 
which  they  are  called  to  legislate.  You  will  under 
stand  me  better  if  I  go  a  little  into  detail. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  has  no  voice  in 
the  appointment  of  any  officer  whatever,  under  the 
government  of  a  State.  The  government  of  a  State 
has  no  voice  whatever  in  the  enactment  of  the  laws, 
or  in  the  appointment  of  the  officers,  of  the  United 
States.  There  may  be,  and  unquestionably  there 
sometimes  is,  a  reciprocal  influence  exerted  between 
them ;  but  the  instances  are  rare,  and  liable  to  a  good 
deal  of  explanation.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States  ever  interests  itselt 
at  all  in  the  appointments  of  a  State ;  but,  as  the 
appointments  of  the  United  States  are  often  of  a 
nature  to  produce  a  direct  effect  on  the  interests  of  a 
particular  State,  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  members 
of  its  government  to  lend  their  influence  to  such  ap 
plicants  as  they  believe  the  most  likely  to  be  of  benefit 
to  its  community.  Still,  it  is  no  more  than  influence ; 
no  two  governments  in  the  world  being  more  per 
fectly  distinct  from  each  other,  than  that  of  the 
United  States  and  that  of  an  individual  member  of 
the  confederation,  if  we  make  the  single  exception, 
that  both  are  bound  to  respect  the  great  principles 
of  the  constitution. 

It  is  an  unsettled  point  whether  Congress  has  a  right 
to  admit  the  ministers  to  possess  consultative  voices  in 


USAGES    IN    CONGRESS.  377 

the  two  houses.  I  think  the  better  opinion  is,  that  they 
have ;  but  the  practice  has  never  yet  been  adopted. 
Indeed,  there  is  a  sort  of  fastidious  delicacy  observed 
on  this  subject,  which,  in  effect,  prevents  the  Secre 
taries  from  attending  the  debates  even  as  auditors. 
I  have  never  yet  seen  any  member  of  the  cabinet  in 
the  chamber  of  either  body.  On  the  last  day  of  the 
session,  it  is  the  practice  of  the  President  to  come  to 
the  Capitol,  and  to  occupy  an  apartment  which  is 
fitted  expressly  for  his  use.  The  object  of  this  visit 
is  to  be  near  the  legislative  bodies,  in  order  that  he 
may  give  his  assent  to,  or  rejection  of,  the  bills  that 
always  accumulate  at  that  time.  He  is,  of  course, 
attended  by  his  cabinet,  the  members  of  which,  I 
am  told,  are  then  in  the  habit  of  sometimes  entering 
the  halls.  This  is  the  only  occasion  on  which  the 
President  appears  in  the  Capitol,  unless  it  be  at  his 
inauguration,  or  at  some  ceremony  not  at  all  con 
nected  with  government. 

The  exclusion  of  the  ministers  from  the  debates  is 
thought,  by  many  people,  to  be  a  defect,  since,  instead 
of  the  verbal  explanations  which  they  might  give,  if 
present,  it  is  now  necessary  to  make  formal  demands 
on  the  different  departments  for  information.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  contended  that  the  existing  practice 
compels  members  to  make  themselves  familiar  with 
details,  and  that  they  are  none  the  worse  legislators 
for  their  labour.  In  no  case  could  the  minister  be 
allowed  to  vote,  or  even  to  propose  a  law,  directly. 

For  the  introduction  of  the  laws,  there  are  two 
courses  in  practice,  though  only  one  in  theory.  Each 
Secretary  makes  a  formal  report  of  the  state  of  his 
particular  department  at  the  commencement  of  every 
session.  In  this  report,  he  takes  care  to  recommend 
those  measures  that  he  deems  needful  for  his  imme 
diate  branch  of  the  public  service.  The  substance 
of  these  reports  is  embodied  in  the  message  of  the 
President ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  that  high  officer  to 
Kk2 


378  USAGES    IN    CONGRESS. 

invite  the  attention  of  the  legislature  to  such  subjects 
as  he  may  consider  of  national  importance.  The 
matter  of  the  message  is  necessarily  divided  into  a 
certain  number  of  leading  topics.  Regular,  or,  as 
they  are  here  called,  standing  committees,  are  ap 
pointed  at  the  commencement  of  every  Congress.* 
To  these  committees  all  the  usual  matter  of  the 
message  is  referred.  Thus,  whatever  relates  to  the 
finances  is  referred  to  "  the  committee  of  ways  and 
means ;"  to  the  army,  to  "the  military  committee,"  &c. 
&c.  If  the  message  should  include  any  extraordinary 
matter,  -as  is  usually  the  case,  a  special  committee  is 
appointed  to  attend  to  it.  At  the  head  of  each  com 
mittee,  (they  exist  in  both  houses),  there  is  placed 
some  member  who  is  supposed  to  be  more  than  com 
monly  acquainted  with  its  business.  As  Congress  is 
so  completely  composed  of  practical  men,  these  duties 
are  generally  discharged  with  a  good  deal  of  dexterity, 
and  often  with  rare  ability.  These  committees  have 
rooms  of  their  own,  where  they  assemble  and  get 
through  with  all  the  drudgery  of  their  duties.  They 
communicate  with  the  departments  ;  and  when  there 
is  an  agreement  of  opinion,  the  necessary  bills  are 
framed  between  them.  The  chairman  is  the  usual 
organ  of  communication  with  the  house.  We  will, 
however,  assume  a  case,  and  follow  it  through  its 
legislative  forms,  in  order  to  render  the  usage  as  clear 
as  possible. 

The  President  and  his  cabinet  believe  the  public 
good  requires  that  a  dozen  regiments  should  be  added 
to  the  army.  The  fact  is  communicated  to  Congress, 
in  the  annual  message,  accompanied  by  a  statement 
of  the  political  events  which  have  induced  the  neces 
sity.  Then  comes  the  report  of  the  Secretary,  with 
a  detailed  view  of  the  present  force,  and  a  general 
comparative  statement  of  that  rvhich  it  is  thought  will 

*  Once  in  two  years. 


USAGES    OF    CONGRESS.  379 

be  needed.  The  military  committees  enter  into  a 
minute  examination  of  the  circumstances  and  esti 
mates,  and  make  such  reports  to  the  two  houses  as 
they  deem  prudent.  If  it  be  in  favour  of  an  increase, 
they  recommend  a  bill.  In  order  to  get  rid  of  certain 
forms,  and  with  a  view  to  render  legislation  deliberate, 
the  whole  house  sit  as  a  committee.  This,  you  know, 
is  a  practice  derived  from  the  English  Parliament 
The  bill,  amended  or  not,  is  first  passed  by  the  com 
mittee  of  the  whole  house ;  but  its  opponents  have 
still  a  chance  to  dispute  its  passage  in  the  house 
itself.  When  it  has  passed  one  of  the  houses,  it  is 
sent  to  the  other,  where  it  goes  through  the  same 
forms.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  com 
mittees  of  the  two  houses  commonly  consult  together 
and  make  their  reports  as  nearly  alike  as  possible. 
in  general  they  are  the  same,  though  the  fate  of  a 
bill  is  by  :io  means  sure  because  it  has  been  approved 
by  the  committees.  All  these  forms  do  not  prevent 
individual  members  from  offering  bills  of  their  own ; 
it  is  merely  a  practice,  adopted  to  favour  examina 
tion,  and  to  expedite  business. 

When  a  bill  has  passed  the  two  houses,  it  is  signed 
by  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  sent  to  the  President 
for  his  approbation.  That  officer  submits  it  to  his 
cabinet,  as  a  matter  of  prudence  and  of  courtesy, 
though  not  of  right.  Should  he  choose  it,  however, 
he  can  demand  the  written  opinion  of  any  of  his 
ministers,  and  then  the  individual  who  gives  it  may 
be  supposed  to  become  responsible  for  the  honesty  of 
his  views.  The  President  decides  as  he  sees  fit; 
there  remaining  no  alternative  to  the  minister  but  sub 
mission,  or  separation  frcm  an  administration  of 
wh»se  policy  he  disapproves.  If  the  President  sign 
the  bill,  it  is  a  law ;  but  if  he  does  not  sign  it,  he  is 
obliged  to  send  it  back  to  Congress  with  his  reasons. 
'  'lould  he  neglect  to  do  either,  for  ten  days,  it  be- 


380  USAGES    OF    CONGRESS. 

comes  a  law  without  his  agency ;  and  should  he  then 
refuse  to  sign  it,  he  may  be  impeached  and  punished, 
as,  probably,  might  such  of  his  ministers  who,  it  could 
be  proved,  had  been  accessary  to  his  obstinacy.  If 
Congress  be  not  satisfied  with  the  objections  of  the 
President,  they  put  the  bill  to  the  question  again ; 
and  should  two-thirds  of  both  houses  support  it,  it 
becomes  a  law,  without  his  agency. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  is  not  remark 
able  for  the  despatch  of  public  business,  nor  is  it 
desirable  that  it  should  be.  One  of  the  greatest 
merits  of  the  peculiar  government  of  the  country,  is 
to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  the  people  are  left,  as 
much  as  possible,  to  be  the  agents  of  their  own  pros 
perity.  The  object  of  the  laws  is  protection  rather 
than  patronage.  Haste  is  rarely  necessary,  where 
such  a  state  of  society  exists ;  and  though  there  may 
be,  and,  undoubtedly,  frequently  is,  inconvenience  in 
the  delays  that  sometimes  occur,  more  good  than  evil 
is  thought  to  follow  the  practice.  The  cause  of  delay 
most  complained  of,  is  the  habit  of  making  set 
speeches,  which  is,  perhaps,  too  common. 

You  are  not,  however,  to  suppose  that  a  member 
actually  talks  seventy-two  hours  without  stopping,  be 
cause  he  is  said  to  have  occupied  the  house  three  days. 
Though  jEolus  himself  does  not  seem  to  be  longer 
winded  than  some  of  the  American  legislators,  none 
of  them  are  quite  equal  to  such  a  blast.  If  we  say 
nine  hours,  perhaps,  we  get  the  maximum  of  their 
breath ;  and  even  this  period  is  to  be  divided  into 
three  several  and  distinct  divisions.  The  houses 
meet  at  twelve  o'clock.  They  are  commonly  occu 
pied  in  the  order  of  the  day  until  two,  when  they  go 
into  committees  of  the  whole,  or  take  up  the  deferred 
business.  This  leaves  the  Demosthenes  of  the  occa 
sion  but  three  hours  each  day  for  the  exercise  of  his 
oratory.  But  bottom  enough  for  three  days,  on  the 
same  subject,  is  not  the  fortunate  quality  of  many 


USAGES    OF    CONGRESS.  381 

men :  so,  after  all,  very  few  members  ever  occupy 
the  house  more  than  an  hour  or  two.  The  evil  does 
not  so  much  exist  in  the  extraordinary  length  of  the 
speeches,  as  in  the  number  of  those  who  can  arrange 
words  enough  to  fill  an  hour  of  time. 

The  Americans  are  fond  of  argument.  They  dis 
cuss  in  society,  a  thing  which  is  done  nowhere  else, 
I  believe.  The  habit  is  often  disagreeable,  since 
their  opinions  are  not  unfrequently  coarsely  urged ; 
but  the  truth  is  profusely  shaken  from  its  husks,  in 
these  sharp,  intellectual  encounters.  It  is  not  sur 
prising,  that  men,  who  have  been  accustomed  all  their 
lives  to  have  a  word  in  what  is  passing,  should  carry 
the  desire  to  speak  into  a  body  which  is  professedly 
deliberative.  Still,  if  the  trifling  inconvenience  of 
these  delays  shall  be  put  in  contrast  with  the  cold 
and  uncalculating  injury,  the  prodigal  expenditure, 
and  the  quiet  corruption  with  which  legislation  so 
often  flows  on  in  its  silent  course,  elsewhere,  the  ad 
vantage  will  be  found  immensely  on  the  side  of  these 
talkers. 

In  point  of  manner,  the  debates  in  both  houses  of 
Congress  are  conducted  with  decorum.  Those  in  the 
Senate  are  particularly  dignified ;  that  body  main 
taining,  at  all  times,  rather  more  of  gravity  than  the 
other.  In  the  Senate,  the  members  are  all  uncovered ; 
in  the  lower  house,  they  wear  their  hats,  if  they  please. 
The  arrangements  of  the  two  halls  are  very  much  the 
same ;  but  the  Senate  chamber  is,  of  course,  much 
the  smallest.  The  members  of  the  Senate  may  be, 
on  the  whole,  rather  older  than  the  representatives ; 
though  there  are  several  between  the  ages  of  thirty 
and  five-and-forty.  It  is  necessary  to  be  thirty,  in 
order  to  sit. 

The  forms  of  the  two  houses  are  the  same.  They 
meet  at  a  stated  hour  (12  o'clock),  and,  after  listen 
ing  to  prayers,  the  regular  business  of  the  day  is  com 
menced.  You  would  probably  suppose  that,  in  a 


382  USAGES    OF    CONGRESS. 

country  where  there  is  no  established  religion,  it 
might  be  difficult  for  an  indiscriminately  collected 
assembly  to  agree  on  the  form  in  which  these  peti 
tions  should  be  offered  up  to  the  Deity.  Nothing  is, 
however,  more  untrue.  Each  house  chooses  its  own 
chaplain,  or  chaplains,  who  are  sometimes  of  one 
denomination,  and  sometimes  of  another.  Prayers 
are  vastly  better  attended  than  in  England,  on  such 
occasions.  I  remember  once  to  have  asked  the 
member  from  Cadwallader's  county,  how  he  recon 
ciled  it  to  his  conscience,  to  listen  to  the  petitions 
offered  up  by  a  clergyman  of  a  sect  entirely  different 
from  his  own.  The  simple  answer  was,  that  he  be 
lieved  the  Almighty  understood  all  languages.* 

Although  instances  of  want  of  temper  and  of  vio 
lent  expressions  have  certainly  occurred  in  Congress, 
they  are  rare,  and  always  strongly  condemned.  Each 
new  speaker  is  patiently  heard,  and  there  is  no  other 
manner  of  manifesting  indifference  to  his  logic  prac 
tised,  than  those  of  writing  letters,  reading  news 
papers,  and  sometimes  of  quitting  the  hall.  There  is 
far  greater  silence  than  in  the  French  Chambers, 
though  more  moving  about  than  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  for  the  simple  reason  that  there  is  more 
room  to  do  it  in.  There  is  sometimes  a  low  laugh ; 
but  systematic  coughing  is  never  heard.  Cries  of  ap 
probation  or  of  disapprobation,  interruptions,  unless 
to  demand  order,  or  any  other  similar  indecencies, 
are  unknown.  These  people  appear  to  me  to  have 
no  fear  of  themselves,  or  of  any  body  else,  in  matters 


*  The  writer  was  afterwards  present  when  a  Roman  Catholic 
preached  to  both  houses  of  Congress  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  although  it  is  not  probable  that  more  than  one 
or  two  of  the  members  were  of  his  religious  persuasion,  if,  in 
deed,  there  was  one.  Nearly  all  of  the  higher  officers  of  govern 
ment  were  present,  though  they  were  Protestants  to  a  man.  Nor 
was  there  any  show  of  liberality  in  the  affair  at  all,  but  every 
thing  appeared  natural,  and  quife  as  a  matter  of  course. 


USAGES    OF    CONGRESS.  383 

that  relate  to  government.  They  go  on  boldly,  sys 
tematically,  and  orderly,  without  any  visible  restraint. 
It  appears  as  if  they  knew  that  use  and  education  had 
implanted  such  general  principles  in  every  man,  that 
they  know  where  to  find  him,  on  all  grave  occasions. 
If  they  scatter  firebrands  freely  in  debate,  and  in  their 
journals,  it  is  because  they  are  sure  there  are  no 
combustibles  into  which  they  can  fall.  The  gallery 
of  Congress  is  very  capacious,  and  any  one  may  enter 
it,  who  pleases.  If  there  could  be  a  hazardous  experi 
ment  tried  on  the  government,  I  think  it  would  be  in 
attempting  to  browbeat  Congress.  It  would  be  quite 
as  safe  to  attempt  to  assassinate  a  sovereign,  in  the 
midst  of  his  guards.  The  members,  the  army,  the 
navy,  the  community,  and  even  the  women,  would 
rise  in  support  of  its  privileges.  The  perfect  security 
of  its  rights  might  render  the  effort  of  an  individual 
too  ridiculous  for  resentment ;  but  any  serious  plot 
of  the  sort  would  be  sure  to  draw  down  the  indigna 
tion  of  the  whole  republic. — Adieu. 


TO  THE  COUNT  JULES  DE  BETHIZT, 
&c.  &c. 


Washington,  >•- 

To  you,  who  so  stoutly  maintain  that  the  regula 
tions  of  etiquette  are  necessary  to  order,  it  may  be 
surprising  to  learn  with  how  little  of  preparation  the 
functionaries  of  this  government  get  through  the  cere 
monials  of  their  offices.  Just  so  far  as  etiquette  is 
of  use  in  facilitating  intercourse,  is  it  rational ;  but 
these  people  very  rightly  believe,  that  their  institu 
tions  enable  them  to  move  on  with  far  less  than  is 


384        ETIQUETTE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

practised  in  Europe.  We  will  seize  a  moment  to 
discuss  the  matter  in  some  of  its  general  bearings. 

In  point  of  style,  there  is  none  whatever  practised 
in  addressing  any  one  officer  of  the  government 
The  naked  appellation  of  the  office  is  used  in  conver 
sation  sometimes,  and  commonly,  though  not  always, 
in  notes  and  letters.  The  tone  can  be  taken  best 
from  the  incumbents  themselves.  An  invitation  to 
dine  at  the  "White  House,1'  always  runs,  "The  Pres 
ident  requests  the  pleasure,"  &c.  A  secretary  com 
monly  says,  "Mr. requests,"  &c.  Now, 

the  best  style,  and  that  which  is  expected,  is  to  reply 
in  the  same  form.  Thus  a  note  should  be  addressed 

"To  Mr. ,"  to  "the  President,"  "To  Mr.  Adams, 

(the  secretary  of  state),"  or  "To  Mr.  Southard  (the 
secretary  of  the  navy)."  The  use  of  honourable  to 
either,  or  indeed  to  any  one  else,  is  not  deemed  bon 
ton.  It  is  done,  however,  quite  frequently  by  those 
who  are  ignorant  of  the  tone  of  the  place.  The  use 
of  the  terms  "  excellency"  and  "  honourable,"  came 
in  with  the  colonial  practices.  I  have  more  than  once 
had  occasion  to  say  that  these  people  have  never  been 
violent  in  their  innovations.  The  changes  in  things 
not  deemed  material,  have  always  been  gradual,  and 
the  work  of  time.  Washington,  at  the  head  of  the 
army,  was  called  "his  excellency,"  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  he  carried  the  title  with  him  to  the  chair 
of  state.  The  colonial  governors  had  the  same  title, 
and  one  of  the  States  (Massachusetts)  continued  it  in 
its  constitution.  But,  though  often  observed,  even 
now,  it  is  a  practice  gradually  falling  into  disuse.  It  is 
not  seriously  pretended  there  is  any  thing  anti-repub 
lican  in  giving  a  title  to  a  public  officer ;  indeed  many 
contend  it  should  be  done,  as  a  way  of  imparting 
more  consideration  to  the  rank;  but,  as  near  as  I 
can  learn,  the  taste  of  the  nation  is  silently  receding 
from  the  custom.  Cadwallader  tells  me  that,  twenty 
years  ago,  it  would  have  been  thought  rather  a  breach 


ETIQUETTE    OF    WASHINGTON.  385 

of  politeness  to  address  a  letter  to  a  member  of  Con 
gress,  without  prefixing  'honourable'  to  the  name, 
though  the  better  practice  now  is  to  omit  it  When 
I  asked  him  if  he  saw  any  reason  for  the  change,  lie 
answered,  none,  but  the  fact  that  the  thing  grew 
contemptible  from  its  frequency. 

"  Twenty  years  ago,"  he  continued,  "  an  officer  of 
the  militia,  above  the  rank  of  captain,  was  sure  of 
bearing  his  title ;  but  now,  among  men  of  a  certain 
class,  it  is  getting  into  disuse,  unless  one  has  reached 
the  rank  perhaps  of  general.  There  is  no  general 
rule,  however,  as  the  people  of  the  country  are  fond 
of  calling  a  man  by  the  title  of  an  office  which  they 
may  have  had  an  agency  in  conferring.  I  think  there 
is  a  quiet  waggery  in  the  nation,  that  takes  pleasure 
in  giving  quaint  names.  Thus,  dwarfs  are  often 
called  4  major1*' — heaven  knows  why !  but  I  have  met 
three  who  all  bore  this  title.  I  have  a  gardener,  who 
is  universally  styled  judge,  and  an  old  black  family 
servant  is  never  known  by  any  other  name  than  that 
of  governor.  Nicknames  are  rather  too  much  in  use 
with  us.  The  liberty  is  not  often  taken,  of  course, 
with  men  of  the  better  orders.  They  are  much  dis 
posed  to  dispense  with  all  sorts  of  titles.  We  call  a 
gentleman  an  esquire,  by  courtesy,  according  to  a 
practice  imported  from  England  ;  though  some  one 
sided  masters  of  ceremonies  deny  that  any  but  magis 
trates,  counsellors,  &LC.  have  a  right  to  the  title ;  just 


*  The  writer  has  just  seen  an  American  play-bill,  in  which 
Major  Stevens,  a  dwarf,  is  advertised  to  enact  the  part  of  Tom 
Thumb.  There  is  also  a  strange  effect,  in  the  way  of  names, 
produced  by  reading.  The  writer  met  several  men,  who  were 
called  Don  Sebastian,  Don  Alonzo,  &c.  &c.  In  one  instance,  he 
knew  a  person  who  was  called  Lord  George  Gordon.  The 
latter  proceeded  from  waggery,  but  the  mothers  of  the  former 
had  found  names  in  books  that  captivated  their  fancy.  Women 
of  a  similar  rank  of  life  in  Europe,  would  know  but  little  of 
titles  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  parishes. 

LI 


386  ETIQUETTE    OF    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

as  if  even  they  could  find  better  authority  for  their 
claims  than  any  body  else.  The  truth  is,  the  courts 
continue  a  few  of  the  colonial  forms,  which  may  be 
well  enough,  and  their  officers  sometimes  think  that 
use  has  grown  into  a  law.  In  New -England  the 
custom  goes  so  far  as  to  call  a  deacon  of  a  church  by 
his  title  ;  and  I  have  even  seen  4  serjeant'  placed  be 
fore  the  name  of  a  respectable  yeoman.  The  practice, 
as  it  confines  the  appellation  to  the  office,  is  rather 
republican  than  otherwise ;  but,  as  I  have  just  said, 
it  is  getting  into  disuse,  because  it  is  no  longer  a  dis 
tinction." 

In  conversation,  the  actual  President,  I  find,  is 
called  Colonel  Monroe.  I  am  told  his  predecessors 
were  addressed  as  Mr.  Madison,  Mr.  Jefferson,  Mr, 
Adams,  and  General  Washington.*  The  Secretaries 
and  the  members  of  Congress  are  addressed  as  other 
gentlemen.  In  the  two  houses,  the  etiquette  is  to 
speak  of  another  member  as  "  the  gentleman  from 
Virginia,"  "the  gentleman  from  Connecticut,  who 
spoke  last,"  and,  sometimes,  as  u  the  honourable  gen 
tleman,"  &c.  The  President  is  commonly  alluded 
to,  in  debate,  as  "  the  executive."  Other  indirect 
means  of  indicating  the  members  meant,  are  some 
times  adopted ;  but,  as  in  the  British  Parliament, 
names  are  always  avoided. 

No  civil  officer  of  the  government  has  a  costume, 
except  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court.  The  latter 
wear,  in  court,  plain  black  silk  gowns.  They  com 
menced  with  wigs  and  scarlet  robes,  but  soon  dis 
carded  them  as  inconvenient.  The  President  might, 
on  occasion,  appear  attired  either  as  a  general  or  an 
admiral ;  and,  in  some  instances,  Washington  did  as 
the  former ;  but  it  is  the  usage  for  the  President  to 

*  The  present  President  (1828)  is  called  Mr.  Adams.  The 
writer  never  heard  the  term  "  excellency"  used,  in  speaking  to 
him  or  to  his  predecessor. 


SOCIETY   OF    THE    CINCINNATI.  387 

dress  like  any  other  gentleman,  consulting  his  own 
taste  and  appearance.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Vice- 
President,  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Represent 
atives,  and  of  all  other  officers  and  members.  You 
know  there  is  no  order  of  knighthood  in  the  country. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  revolution,  the  officers 
of  the  army  formed  themselves  into  a  society  called 
the  society  of  Cincinnati.  They  adopted  a  little 
enamelled  badge,  which  bears  some  resemblance  to 
a  simple  European  cross.  Even  this  immaterial  dis 
tinction  gave  offence,  and  some  of  the  State  societies 
were  abolished  many  years  ago.  The  plan  was  to 
perpetuate  the  feeling  which  had  united  them  as  a 
corps,  through  their  descendants,  it  being  intended 
that  the  eldest  male  heir  should  succeed  to  the  father. 
You  may  trace,  in  this  little  circumstance,  the  linger 
ing  of  ancient  prejudices.  Still,  had  not  Washington 
been  at  the  head  of  this  society,  and  had  not  the 
services  of  its  members  been  so  undeniable,  and  so 
pitifully  rewarded,  this  trifling  consolation  to  their 
pride  would  not  have  been  endured  even  at  that 
time.  The  society  is  daily  getting  of  less  importance, 
though  possibly  of  more  interest,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  but  it  will  disappear  entirely,  with  the  indi 
viduals  who  were  personal  nctors  in  the  scenes  which 
called  it  into  existence.  It  is  probable  there  will 
be  no  more  members  of  the  Cincinnati  a  dozen  years 
hence. 

The  constitution  has  shown  a  marked  jealousy  of 
the  introduction  of  any  distinctions  that  are  not  solely 
attached  to  office,  which,  as  you  know,  are  fluctuat 
ing,  and  entirely  dependent  on  popular  favour.  Thus, 
no  American  can  receive  a  title,  or  a  decoration, 
from  a  foreign  court,  without  losing  his  citizenship, 
nor  can  any  officer  of  the  government  receive  even 
a  trifling  present  from  another  power.  There  are  a 
good  many  people  here  whose  fathers  bore  titles.  In 
all  cases,  where  use  had  not  become  too  strong,  they 


388  A   TERRITORIAL    TITLE 

were  dropped.  In  short,  I  think  the  tone  in  all  SIM 
matters  in  America,  is  to  follow  the  natural  course 
of  things.  It  is  not  natural  for  a  community,  like 
this,  to  cherish  hereditary  titles,  and  yet  it  would  be 
doing  violence  to  usage  by  attempting  to  change  the 
appellation  of  an  individual,  who  had  been  known  by 
a  title  for  perhaps  half  a  century.  The  Dutch  in 
New-York  had  a  sort  of  lords  of  the  manor,  who 
were  known  by  the  title  of  patroons  (paterons).  Cad- 
wallader  tells  me  that,  in  his  youth,  he  knew  several 
of  these  patroons.  But  they  have  all  disappeared, 
except  one.  The  exception  is  a  gentleman  resident 
at  Albany,  who  is  perhaps  the  greatest  landed  pro 
prietor  in  the  United  States.  Every  body,  who  is 
familiar  with  the  haDits  of  that  part  of  the  country, 
calls  this  gentleman  "  the  patroon."  His  father,  and 
several  of  his  ancestors,  bore  the  same  appellation. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  jealousy  or  feeling  on  the 
subject.  He  is  a  member  of  Congress ;  and  though 
persons  from  other  parts  of  the  Union  address  him 
by  his  real  name,  my  friend  always  calls  him  "  pa 
troon."  The  immense  estate  of  this  gentleman  was 
entailed,  and  he  came  into  possession  about  the  time 
of  the  revolution.  But  there  are  no  more  entails  in 
any  of  the  States  ;  and  although  the  possessions  of  the 
patroon  will  undoubtedly  go  to  his  children,  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  the  appellation  will  cease  with 
his  own  life. 

The  etiquette  of  the  American  government  is  as 
simple  as  possible.  Some  attention  to  forms  is  found 
convenient,  and  as  so  many  foreign  ministers  reside 
here,  perhaps  it  is  necessary.  The  practice  of  all 
American  society,  in  respect  to  precedency,  is  very 
much  like  your  own,  always  excepting  the  great  offi 
cers  of  the  two  governments.  Age,  talent,  and  char 
acter,  exercise  a  great  and  a  natural  influence,  and 
there,  I  think,  the  matter  is  permitted  to  rest.  A 
governor  of  a  State,  or  even  a  Senator  of  the  United 


ETIQUETTE   OF   THE    COUNTRY.  389 

States,  would  be  expected  to  lead  the  mistress  of  the 
house  to  the  table,  perhaps,  just  as  a  stranger,  or  a 
man  of  particular  personal  claims,  would  be  permit 
ted  to  do  the  same  thing.  But  the  deference  paid  to 
official  rank  would  be  very  apt  to  end  there.  A  mere 
member  of  the  lower  house  may  receive  certain  dis 
tinctions  in  public  ceremonies,  but  scarcely  in  society. 
It  would  be  intolerable  for  a  son  of  the  President  to 
presume  on  his  birth  in  any  situation.  He  might, 
and  certainly  would  be  more  caressed,  on  account 
of  the  circumstance;  but  he  must  always  content 
himself  with  precisely  the  degree  of  attention  that  is 
offered.  The  son  of  any  other  gentleman  is,  in  every 
respect,  his  equal  in  society,  and  the  son  of  any  other 
man  his  equal  before  the  world.  You  will  under 
stand  me  to  speak  now  with  direct  reference  to 
practice,  for  in  theory  there  is  no  difference  at  all.* 


*  The  writer,  since  his  return  to  Europe,  has  had  an  opportu 
nity  of  ascertaining  how  far  the  question  of  precedency  is  some 
times  pushed  in  England.  At  an  entertainment  given  not  long 
since  in  London,  there  were  present,  besides  many  Englishmen 
of  rank,  a  Russian  and  a  P^oman  Prince.  The  high-bred  Eng 
lish  peers  could  not  hesitate  to  give  the  pas  to  the  strangers; 
but  these  gentlemen  were  delicate  in  respect  of  each  other.  The 
question  was  one  far  too  awful  for  the  mistress  of  the  house  to 
attempt  to  decide.  After  the  whole  party  had  stood  in  reveren 
tial  silence  for  a  sufficiently  awkward  minute,  the  ladies  moved 
to  the  banquet  in  a  body,  followed  by  the  gentlemen  in  the  same 
solitary  order.  Within  a  fortnight  of  that  memorable  coup 
tfetiquette,  the  writer  was  present  at  a  similar  entertainment  at 
Paris.  Here  there  were  also  men  of  distinction  from  different 
countries,  without  any  graduated  scale  to  determine  their  co- 
relative  rank.  There  was,  however,  one  gentleman  whose 
claims,  though  a  countryman  of  the  hostess,  might,  in  all  fair 
ness,  be  considered  to  be  pre-eminent,  since,  to  personal  rank,  he 
united  the  highest  talents,  and  the  utmost  private  merit.  The 
lady  of  the  house,  in  order  to  anticipate  any  doubts,  took  his 
arm,  and  then,  with  exquisite  grace  and  tact,  she  saw  each  of 
the  other  claimants  accommodated  with  a  proper  companion, 
and  every  one  advanced  towards  the  sallea  manger  in  less  than 
a  minute 

L12 


390  AN   ESSAY  ON    ETIQUETTE. 

The  present  Secretary  of  State*  undertook,  in  great 
simplicity,  to  give  his  opinions  lately  on  some  ques 
tions  of  etiquette  connected  with  the  subject  of  offi 
cial  intercourse.  There  was  probably  a  great  deal 
of  good  sense  in  what  he  published,  and  no  doubt  the 
practices  he  recommended  were  not  without  conve 
nience.  But  it  is  generally  thought  he  committed  an 
error  in  writing  about  them  at  all.  Now,  it  is  just  in 
this  fact  that  I  think  the  common  sense  of  the  Ameri 
cans  is  to  be  traced.  Whatever  is  convenient,  in  the 
way  of  ceremony,  they  are  very  apt  to  adopt ;  but 
they  are  not  disposed  to  make  trifles  matters  of  se 
rious  discussion.  The  Secretary  was  a  good  deal 
quizzed  for  his  essay,  though  I  dare  say  most  people 
practised  the  very  thing  they  laughed  at. 

At  Washington  official  rank  is  certainly  more  attend 
ed  to  than  elsewhere.  I  cannot  give  you  an  insight 
into  the  whole  table  of  precedency,  but  some  of  its 
secrets  have  been  practically  divulged  in  my  presence. 
The  day  after  our  arrival,  Cadwallader  and  myself 
left  cards  at  the  President's  House ;  at  the  houses  of 
the  heads  of  departments ;  at  those  of  the  foreign 
ministers ;  and  at  the  lodgings  of  a  dozen  Senators. 
We  met  sundry  members  of  Congress,  but  my  friend 
did  not  appear  to  think  it  necessary  to  treat  them  as 
personages  entitled  to  particular  deference.  Their 
claims  form  a  disputed  point,  I  find  ;  but  Cadwallader 
knows  his  own  foothold  in  society  too  well  to  trouble 
himself  with  a  disputed  point.  We  called  on  a  few, 
as  "good  fellows,"  but  on  none  officially. 

Our  cards  were  all  returned,  except  by  the  Presi 
dent.  During  the  session  this  functionary  never  visits, 
though  he  receives  twice  a  week.  Between  the 
sessions,  when  the  society  of  Washington  is  reduced 
to  a  very  few  families,  I  understand  he  consults  his 
own  pleasure.  In  the  course  of  the  week  we  received 

*  The  actual  President. 


A    VISIT    TO    THE    PRESIDENT.  391 

Botes  to  attend  the  "  evenings  "  of  those  who  opened 
their  houses;  and  invitations  to  dine  with  the  Secre 
taries  soon  followed.  The  dinner  of  the  President 
came  last ;  but  as  it  contains  the  essence  of  all  the 
etiquette  of  this  simple  court,  I  shall  select  it  for  a 
short  description. 

Cadwallader  was  personally  known  to  Mr.  Monroe 
(the  President),  and  we  took  an  opportunity  to  repeat 
our  call  between  the  time  of  leaving  our  cards  and 
the  day  of  the  dinner.  The  principal  entrance  of 
the  "White  House"  communicates  with  a  spacious 
vestibule,  or  rather  a  hail.  From  this  we  passed  into 
an  apartment,  where  those  who  visit  the  President,  in 
<the  mornings,  are  to  wait  their  turns  for  the  interview. 
Our  names  had  been  given  in  at  the  door,  and  after 
two  or  three,  who  preceded  us,  had  been  admitted, 
we  were  desired  to  follow  the  domestic.  Our  recep 
tion  was  in  a  cabinet,  and  the  visit  of  course  quite 
short.  Colonel  Monroe  received  us  politely,  but  with 
an  American  gravity,  which  perhaps  was  not  mis 
placed  in  such  an  officer.  He  offered  his  hand  to  me, 
though  an  entire  stranger,  and  asked  the  common 
place  questions  concerning  my  visit  to  the  country. 
We  took  our  leave  in  less  than  ten  minutes. 

I  found  the  President  a  man  of  a  gentlemanlike, 
but  of  a  grave  and  simple  deportment.  He  expressed 
tiis  hope  of  seeing  us  soon  again,  in  a  way  to  make 
me  suspect  we  had  rather  been  invited  to  his  dinner, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  than  by  any  express  commands. 
Let  that  be  as  it  might,  we  went  on  the  appointed 
day,  with  as  much  confidence  as  if  the  banquet  were 
expressly  spread  in  our  behalfl 

On  this  occasion  we  were  honoured  with  the 
presence  of  Mrs.  Monroe,  and  of  two  or  three  of  her 
female  relatives.  Crossing  the  hall,  we  were  admitted 
to  a  drawing-room,  in  which  most  of  the  company 
was  already  assembled.  The  hour  was  six.  By  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  guests  were  men,  and  perhaps 


392  A    DINNER    WITH    THE    PRESIDENT. 

i wo-thirds  were  members  of  Congress.  It  is  unnece* 
sary  to  describe  a  company  that  was  composed  of  a 
very  fair  representation  of  Congress,  which,  as  you 
already  know,  is  composed  of  a  very  fair  representa 
tion  of  the  whole  country,  the  very  lowest  classes 
always  excepted.  There  was  great  gravity  of  mien 
iti  most  of  the  company,  and  neither  any  very  marked 
exhibition,  nor  any  positively  striking  want,  of  grace 
of  manner.  The  conversation  was  commonplace,  and 
a  little  sombre,  though  two  or  three  men  of  the  world 
got  around  the  ladies,  where  the  battle  of  words  was 
maintained  with  sufficient  spirit.  I  do  not  know 
that  it  differed  materially  from  a  reunion  any  where 
else.  To  me  the  entertainment  had  rather  a  cold 
than  a  formal  air.  When  dinner  was  announced,  the 
oldest  Senator  present  (there  were  two,  and  seniority 
of  service  is  meant)  took  Mrs.  Monroe  and  led  her  to 
the  table.*  The  rest  of  the  party  followed  without 
much  order.  The  President  took  a  lady,  as  usual 
and  preceded  the  rest  of  the  guests. 

The  drawing-room  was  an  apartment  of  a  good  size, 
arid  of  just  proportions.  It  might  have  been  about  as 
large  as  a  better  sort  of  Paris  salon,  in  a  private  hotel. 
It  was  furnished  in  a  mixed  style,  partly  English  and 
partly  French,  a  custom  that  prevails  a  good  deal 
in  all  the  fashions  of  this  country.  It  was  neat,  suf 
ficiently  rich,  without  being  at  all  magnificent,  and, 
on  the  whole,  was  very  much  like  a  similar  apart 
ment  in  the  house  of  a  man  of  rank  and  fortune  in 
Europe.  The  dining-room  was  in  a  better  taste  than 
is  common  here,  being  quite  simple,  and  but  little 
furnished.  The  table  was  large  and  rather  handsome. 
The  service  was  in  china,  as  is  uniformly  the  case, 
plate  being  exceedingly  rare,  if  at  all  used.  There 
was,  however,  a  rich  plateau,  and  a  great  abundance 


*  The  wife  of  the  President  is  always  styled  the  same  as  aay 
other  lady. 


SERVICE    OF    THE    DINNER.  393 

of  the  smaller  articles  of  table  plate.    The  cloth,  nap 
kins,  £c.  &c.,  were  fine  and  beautiful. 

The  dinner  was  served  in  the  French  style,  a  little 
Americanized.  The  dishes  were  handed  round,  though 
some  of  the  guests,  appearing  to  prefer  their  own  cus 
toms,  very  coolly  helped  themselves,  to  what  they 
found  at  hand.  Of  attendants  there  were  a  good 
many.  They  were  neatly  dressed,  out  of  livery,  and 
sufficient.  To  conclude,  the  whole  entertainment 
might  have  passed  for  a  better  sort  of  European  din 
ner  party,  at  which  the  guests  were  too  numerous 
for  general,  or  very  agreeable  discourse,  and  some  of 
them  too  new  to  be  entirely  at  their  ease.  Mrs.  Mon 
roe  arose  at  the  end  of  the  dessert,  and  withdrew, 
attended  by  two  or  three  of  the  most  gallant  of  the 
company.  Being  a  stranger,  Jules,  I  forgot  the  credit 
of  the  club,  and  remained  to  see  it  out.  No  sooner 
was  his  wife's  back  turned,  than  the  President  of  the 
United  States  reseated  himself,  inviting  his  guests  to 
imitate  the  action,  with  a  wave  of  the  hand,  that 
seemed  to  say,  "Now  have  we  a  matrimonial  fourth 
of  July."  Has  it  never  struck  you,  Comte  de  Bethizy, 
that  these  domestic  subjects  feel  a  species  of  moment 
ary  triumph,  as  they  figure  at  the  head  of  their  tables 
without  any  rival  in  authority  near  ?  Your  English 
man,  and  his  cis-atlantic  kinsman,  are  the  only  real 
slaves  in  their  own  households.  Most  other  husbands 
consider  matrimony,  more  or  less,  a  convenience; 
but  these  downright  moralists  talk  of  its  obligations 
and  duties,  Obligations  !  There  is  our  triumph.  It 
is  when  they  feel  the  man  within  them  waxing  bold, 
as  they  imbibe  courage  with  their  wine,  that  the  wife 
prudently  retires,  rather  than  remain  to  dispute  a 
sway  that  she  knows  is  about  to  weaken  itself,  by 
libations  to  victory.  I  never  feel  so  thoroughly  inde 
pendent  as  when  I  see  one  of  your  immoderately 
henpecked  heroes,  bristling  up  and  chuckling  with 
glee  as  he  looks  around  on  the  domestic  throne  which 


394  THE    DRAWING-RC/OM. 

has  just  been  momentarily  abandoned  by  h^r  who  is 
seated  there  all  the  rest  of  the  twenty-four  hours.  No 
one  need  seek  deeper  into  the  history  of  customs,  than 
the  date  of  this  triumph,  to  find  the  origin  of  drunken 
ness  after  dinner. 

I  cannot  say  that  Colonel  Monroe  abused  his  op 
portunity.  After  allowing  all  his  guests  sufficient  time 
to  renew,  in  a  few  glasses,  the  recollections  of  similar 
enjoyments  of  their  own,  he  arose  himself,  giving  the 
hint  to  his  company,  that  it  was  time  to  join  the  ladies. 
In  the  drawing-room  coffee  was  served,  and  every 
body  left  the  house  before  nine. 

On  the  succeeding  Wednesday,  Mrs.  Monroe  open 
ed  her  doors  to  all  the  world.  No  invitation  was 
necessary,  it  being  the  usage  for  the  wife  of  the  Presi 
dent  to  receive  once  a  fortnight  during  the  session, 
without  distinction  of  persons.  I  waited  for  this 
evening  with  more  curiosity  than  any  that  I  remember 
ever  to  have  sighed  for.  I  could  not  imagine  what 
would  be  the  result.  To  my  fancy,  a  more  hazard 
ous  experiment  could  not  be  attempted.  "  How  dare 
she  risk  the  chance  of  insult — of  degradation?  or 
how  can  she  tolerate  the  vulgarity  and  coarseness  to 
which  she  must  be  exposed  ?"  was  the  question  I  put 
to  Cadwallader.  "  Nous  verrons,"  was  the  phlegmatic 
answer. 

We  reached  the  White  House  at  nine.  The  court 
(or  rather  the  grounds)  was  filled  with  carriages,  and 
the  company  was  arriving  in  great  numbers.  On  this 
occasion  two  or  three  additional  drawing-rooms  were 
opened,  though  the  frugality  of  Congress  has  prevented 
them  from  finishing  the  principal  reception-room  of 
the  building.*  I  will  acknowledge  the  same  sort  of 
surprise  that  I  felt  at  the  Castle  Garden  fete,  at  find- 


*  The  people  furnish  the  entire  house.  It  is  the  practice  to 
make  a  moderate  appropriation  for  that  purpose,  at  the  accession 
of  each  new  President. 


APPEARANCE    OF     THE    COMPANY.  395 

ing  the  assemblage  so  respectable,  in  air,  dress,  and 
deportment.  Determined  to  know  exactly  in  what 
view  to  consider  this  ceremony,  I  gave  my  companion 
no  peace  until  every  thing  was  explained. 

The  "  evening"  at  the  White  House,  or  the  draw 
ing-room,  as  it  is  sometimes  pleasantly  called,  is  in 
fact  a  collection  of  all  classes  of  people  who  choose 
to  go  to  the  trouble  and  expense  of  appearing  in 
dresses  suited  to  an  ordinary  evening  party.  I  am  not 
sure  that  even  dress  is  much  regarded ;  for  I  certainly 
saw  a  good  many  men  there  in  boots.  The  females 
•were  all  neatly  and  properly  attired,  though  few  were 
ornamented  with  jewelry.  Of  course  the  poorer  and 
labouring  classes  of  the  community  would  find  little 
or  no  pleasure  in  such  a  scene.  They  consequently 
stay  away.  The  infamous,  if  known,  would  not  be 
admitted  :  for  it  is  a  peculiar  consequence  of  the  high 
tone  of  morals  in  this  country,  that  grave  and  notori 
ous  offenders  rarely  presume  to  violate  the  public 
feeling  by  invading  society.  Perhaps  if  Washington 
were  a  large  town,  the  "  evenings1*1  could  not  exist ; 
but  as  it  is,  no  inconvenience  is  experienced. 

Squeezing  through  the  crowd,  we  achieved  a  pas 
sage  to  a  part  of  the  room  where  Mrs.  Monroe  was 
standing,  surrounded  by  a  bevy  of  female  friends. 
After  making  our  bows  here,  we  sought  the  President. 
The  latter  had  posted  himself  at  the  top  of  the  room, 
where  he  remained  most  of  the  evening,  shaking 
hands  with  all  who  approached.*  Near  him  stood 
all  the  Secretaries,  and  a  great  number  of  the  most 


*  It  is  a  mistaken  opinion,  however,  that  shaking1  hands  is  a 
custom  not  to  be  dispensed  with  in  America.  Most  people  prac 
tise  it  certainly,  for  it  is  thought  to  be  a  frank,  manly,  and,  if 
you  will,  a  republican  usage.  But  in  a  certain  class,  it  is  not 
considered  a  mark  of  breeding  to  be  too  free  with  the  hand,  in 
casual  introductions,  Two  gentlemen  meeting  would  be  apt  to 
touch  their  hats  (unless  intimates)  just  as  in  Europe,  though 
cither  of  them  would  offer  his  hand  to  any  one  who  he  thought 


396        CHARACTER  OF  THE  COMPANY. 

distinguished  men  of  the  nation.  Cadwallader  pointed 
out  the  different  judges,  and  several  members  of  both 
houses  of  Congress,  whose  reputations  were  quite 
familiar  to  me.  Individuals  of  importance  from  all 
parts  of  the  Union  were  also  here,  and  were  em 
ployed  in  the  manner  usual  to  such  scenes.  Thus 
far  the  "  evening"  would  have  been  like  any  other 
excessively  crowded  assembly;  but  while  my  eyes 
were  roving  over  the  different  faces,  they  accidentally 
fell  on  one  they  knew.  It  was  the  master  of  an  inn, 
in  one  of  the  larger  towns.  My  friend  and  myself 
had  passed  a  fortnight  in  his  house.  I  pointed  him 
out  to  Cadwallader,  and  I  am  afraid  there  was  some 
thing  like  an  European  sneer  in  my  manner  as  I 
did  so. 

"  Yes,  I  have  just  shaken  hands  with  him,"  re 
turned  my  friend,  coolly.  "  He  keeps  an  excellent 
tavern,  you  must  allow ;  and,  what  is  more,  had  not 
that  circumstance  been  the  means  of  your  making; 
his  acquaintance,  you  might  have  mistaken  him  for 
one  of  the  magnates  of  the  land.  I  understand  your 

look,  Count  de ,  better  than  you  understand 

the  subject  at  which  you  are  smiling.  Fancy,  for  a 
moment,  that  this  assembly  were  confined  to  a  hun 
dred  or  two,  like  those  eminent  men  you  see  collected1 
in  that  corner,  and  to  these  beautiful  and  remarkably 
delicate  women  you  see  standing  near  us ;  in  what, 
except  name,  would  it  be  inferior  to  the  best  collec 
tions  of  your  side  of  the  ocean?  You  need  not 
apologize,  for  we  understand  one  another  perfectly. 
I  know  Europe  rather  better  than  you  know  America,, 
for  the  simple  reason,  that  one  part  of  Europe  is  so* 
much  like  another,  that  it  is  by  no  means  an  abstruse 


expected  it.  When  an.  European,  therefore,  offers  to  shake  hands 
with  an  American  of  breeding,,  unless  on  familiar  terms,  he  mis- 
takes  the  manners  of  the  country.  The  natural  feeling  of  gen*, 
tlemanly  reserve  is  the  guide  there,  as  it  is  with  us. 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  COMPANY.        397 

study,  so  far  as  mere  manners  are  concerned;  where 
as,  in  America,  there  exists  a  sute  of  things  that  i? 
entirely  new.  We  will  make  the  comparison,  not  in 
the  way  you  are  at  this  moment  employed  in  doing, 
but  in  the  way  common  sense  dictates. 

"  It  is  very  true  that  you  meet  here  a  great  variety 
of  people  of  very  many  conditions  of  life.  This 
person  you  see  on  my  left  is  a  shopkeeper  from  New- 
York  :  no — not  the  one  in  black,  but  the  genteel- 
looking  man  in  blue — I  dare  say  you  took  him  for  an 
attache  of  one  of  the  legations.  And  this  lovely  crea 
ture,  who  demeans  herself  with  so  much  elegance 
and  propriety,  is  the  daughter  of  a  mechanic  of  Bal 
timore.  In  this  manner  we  might  dissect  half  the 
company,  perhaps ;  some  being  of  better,  and  some 
of  worse,  exteriors.  But  what  does  it  all  prove  1 
Not  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  obliged 
to  throw  open  his  doors  to  the  rabble,  as  you  might 
be  tempted  to  call  it,  for  he  is  under  no  sort  of  obli 
gation  to  open  his  doors  to  any  body.  But  he  chooses 
to  see  the  world,  and  he  must  do  one  of  two  things. 
He  must  make  invidious  and  difficult  selections, 
which,  in  a  public  man,  would  excite  just  remarks 
in  a  government  like  ours,  or  he  must  run  the  hazard 
of  remaining  three  or  four  hours  in  a  room  filled  with 
a  promiscuous  assembly.  He  has  wisely  chosen  the 
latter. 

"  What  is  the  consequence  1  Your  ears  are  not  of 
fended  by  improper  discourse.  Your  individuality  is 
not  wounded  by  impertinence,  nor  even  your  taste 
annoyed  by  any  very  striking  coarseness  of  manner. 
Now  it  appears  to  me,  that  every  American  should 
exult  in  this  very  exhibition.  Not  for  the  vulgar  rea 
son  that  it  is  a  proof  of  the  equality  of  our  rights,  for 
it  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  society  is  a  necessary  de 
pendant  of  government.  In  this  respect  the  '  even 
ings  '  are  some  such  deception  as  that  ceremony  one 
hears  of  in  Europe,  in  which  sovereigns  wash  the 
M  m 


398         EXPLANATION  OF  THE  DRAWING-ROOM. 

feet  of  beggars.  But  he  should  exult  that  the  house 
of  his  first  magistrate  can  be  thrown  open  to  the 
world,  and  an  assembly  so  well-behaved,  so  decent, 
so  reasonable,  so  free  alike  from  sheepishness  and 
presumption,  m  short  so  completely  creditable,  in 
every  point  of  view,  is  collected  by  the  liberty. 
Open  the  doors  of  one  of  your  palaces  in  this  man 
ner,  and  let  us  see  what  would  be  the  character  of 
the  company. 

"  There  is  a  good  sense  in  our  community,  which 
removes  all  dangers  of  unpleasant  consequences  from 
too  much  familiarity.  It  imposes  the  necessity  on 
him  who  would  be  thought  a  gentleman,  of  being  cir 
cumspect  and  reasonable,  but  it  leaves  him  sufficient 
ly  the  master  of  all  his  movements  and  associations. 
The  seeming  scarcity  of  high-bred  men  in  this  coun 
try,  compared  with  the  number  one  sees  in  Europe, 
is  much  less  owing  to  our  form  of  government,  than 
the  fact  that  they  are  so  widely  scattered.  Quite 
half,  too,  of  what  is  called  fastidious  breeding,  is  pure 
ly  conventional,  and,  to  make  conventions,  men  must 
meet. 

"  I  have  known  a  cartman  leave  his  horse  in  the 
street,  and  go  into  a  reception-room  to  shake  hands 
with  the  President.  He  offended  the  good  sense  of 
all  present,  because  it  was  not  thought  decent  that  a 
labourer  should  come  in  a  dirty  dress  on  such  an  oc 
casion  ;  but  while  he  made  a  trifling  mistake  in  this 
particular,  he  proved  how  well  he  understood  the 
difference  between  government  and  society.  He 
knew  the  levee  was  a  sort  of  homage  paid  to  politi 
cal  equality  in  the  person  of  the  first  magistrate,  but 
he  would  not  have  presumed  to  enter  the  house  of 
the  same  person  as  a  private  individual  without  being 
invited,  or  without  a  reasonable  excuse  in  the  way 
of  business. 

"  There  are.,  no  doubt,  individuals  who  mistake 
the  character  of  these  assemblies,  but  the  great  mar 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  DRAWING-ROOM.    399 

iority  do  not.  They  are  simply  a  periodical  acknow 
ledgment,  that  there  is  no  legal  barrier  to  the  ad 
vancement  of  any  one  to  the  first  association  in  the 
Union.  You  perceive  there  are  no  masters  of  cer 
emonies,  no  ushers,  no  announcing,  nor  indeed  any 
let  or  hindrance  to  the  ingress  of  all  who  please  to 
come  ;  and  yet  how  few,  in  comparison  to  the  whole 
number  who  might  enter,  do  actually  appear.  If 
there  is  any  man,  in  Washington,  so  dull  as  to  sup 
pose  equality  means  a  right  to  thrust  himself  into  any 
company  he  pleases,  it  is  probable  he  satisfies  his 
vanity  by  boasting  that  he  can  go  to  the  White  House 
once  a  fortnight  as  well  as  a  governor  or  any  body 
else.  You  will  confess  his  pride  is  appeased  at  a 
cheap  rate.  Any  prince  can  collect  a  well-dressed 
and  well-behaved  crowd  by  calling  his  nobles  around 
him ;  but  I  fancy  the  President  of  the  United  States 
is  the  only  head  of  a  nation  who  need  feel  no  appre 
hension  of  throwing  open  his  doors  to  every  body. 
Until  you  can  show  an  assembly  composed  of  similar 
materials,  which  shall  equal  this,  not  only  in  decency, 
but  in  ease  and  in  general  manners,  you  ought  in 
reason  to  be  content  to  confess  your  inferiority." 

You  will  perceive  the  utter  impossibility  of  having 
an  opinion  of  your  own,  dear  Jules,  when  a  man  is 
obstinately  bent  on  considering  things  always  in 
reference  to  common  sense,  instead  of  consulting  the 
reverend  usages  which  have  been  established  by  the 
world,  whether  founded  on  prejudice  or  not.  So  far 
as  mere  appearance  goes,  I  must  confess,  however, 
my  friend  was  not  very  wrong,  since  the  company 
at  the  White  House,  on  this  occasion,  was  certainly 
as  well-behaved,  all  things  considered,  as  could  be 
wished. 


(  400  ) 


TO  THE  BARON  VON  KEMPERFELT, 
&c.  &c. 


Washington,  — — . 

WASHINGTON,  as  it  contains  all  the  public  offices  is 
the  hest  place  to  ascertain  the  general  statistical  facts 
connected  with  the  condition  of  this  country.  I  have 
hitherto  purposely  avoided  touching  on  the  marine 
of  the  United  States,  until  I  should  have  an  oppor 
tunity  of  getting  the  information  necessary  to  do  it 
justice.  On  no  occasion,  however,  have  I  neglected 
to  examine  the  ships  and  the  navy-yards  as  I  passed 
through  the  seaports,  though  I  have  reserved  all  my 
remarks  until  I  had  something  material  to  communi 
cate.  It  is  my  intention  to  dispose  of  the  subject 
altogether  in  this  letter. 

Until  the  period  of  the  war  which  separated  the 
two  countries,  the  American  mariners  performed 
most  of  their  military  service  in  the  navy  of  Great 
Britain.  The  history  of  the  colonies,  however,  is 
not  altogether  destitute  of  nautical  incidents,  that 
were  rather  remarkable  for  skill  and  enterprise. 
The  privateers  of  this  hemisphere  were  always  con 
spicuous  in  the  colonial  contests;  and  they  were 
then,  as  they  have  always  been  since,  of  a  character 
for  order  and  chivalry  that  ought  not  to  be  too  confi« 
dently  expected  from  a  class  of  adventurers  who 
professedly  take  up  arms  for  an  object  so  little  justi 
fiable,  and  perhaps  so  ignoble,  as  gain.  But  men  of 
a  stamp  altogether  superior  to  the  privateersmen  of 
Europe  were  induced,  by  the  peculiar  situation  of 
their  country,  to  embark  in  these  doubtful  military 
enterprises  in  America.  There  was  no  regular  ser 
vice  in  which  to  show  their  martial  qualities ;  and 


THE    WAR    OF    1745.  401 

those  among  them  who  felt  a  longing  for  the  hazards 
and  adventures  of  naval  warfare,  were  obliged  to 
hoist  these  semi-chivalrous  flags,  or  to  stay  at  home. 
Still,  unless  very  wrongly  informed,  it  was  much  the 
fashion  for  the  gentry  of  the  colonies  to  place  their 
sons  in  the  navy  of  the  mother  country ;  and  many 
distinguished  names,  in  the  higher  ranks  of  the  British 
marine  at  this  day,  have  been  pointed  out  to  me  in 
corroboration  of  the  circumstance.  It  is  generally 
believed  that  Washington  himself  was  destined  to 
such  a  life,  and  that  nothing  but  the  unconquerable 
reluctance  of  a  tender  mother  prevented  him  from 
figuring  in  a  very  different  character  from  that  which 
he  was  afterwards  enabled  to  enact  with  so  much 
usefulness  and  true  glory. 

The  first  evidences  of  a  nautical  enterprise,  on  an 
extended  scale,  that  I  can  discover  in  the  history  of 
these  people,  are  contained  in  the  accounts  of  the 
expedition  against  Louisbourg.  The  States  of  New- 
England,  or  rather  Massachusetts  alone,  undertook 
to  reduce  that  important  fortress  during  the  war  of 
1745.  A  considerable  naval  armament  accompanied 
the  expedition,  which  was  successful,  though  it  con 
tained  no  ship  of  a  force  sufficient  to  combat  with  the 
heavier  vessels  of  their  enemy.  Still  it  manifested 
a  disposition  to  the  sort  of  warfare  of  which  I  am 
writing,  more  especially  as  the  mother  country  not 
only  possessed  a  squadron  near,  but  actually  employ 
ed  it  in  the  service.  A  people  whose  maritime  pro 
pensities  were  less  strong  might  have  been  content 
to  have  thrown  the  whole  of  this  branch  of  the  un 
dertaking  on  an  ally  that  was  so  well  qualified  to  dis 
charge  the  duty  with  credit. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  struggle  for  indepen 
dence,  notwithstanding  the  overwhelming  force  of 
their  enemy,  the  Americans  early  showed  the  new 
flag  on  the  ocean.  Almost  any  other  people  of  the 
world,  under  similar  circumstances,  would  have  re- 
Mm  2 


402  THE    WAR    OF     1776. 

tired  into  their  valleys  and  fastnesses ;  but  the  pri* 
vateers  and  public  cruisers  of  America,  while  the 
divided  and  feeble  population  at  home  were  strug 
gling  daily  for  their  political  existence,  continued, 
during  the  whole  of  that  war,  to  carry  hostilities 
even  to  the  shores  of  Great  Britain.  Had  the  govern 
ment  of  the  country  even  wished  to  husband  its  re 
sources  for  domestic  defence,  it  is  more  than  probable 
it  would  have  been  found  that'  it  did  not  possess  suffi 
cient  authority  to  repress  the  nautical  temper  of  the 
country.  It  acted  a  wiser  part.  Although  a  more  hope 
less  adventure  could  not  apparently  be  conceived, 
than  for  these  infant  States  to  contend  against  the 
overwhelming  power  of  England  on  the  ocean,  yet 
the  new  government  early  directed  a  considerable  por 
tion  of  its  scanty  means  to  that  object.  Nor  was  the 
desperate  adventure  without  its  benefits.  It  served  to 
make  the  nations  of  Europe  more  familiarly  acquaint 
ed  with  the  power  that  was  struggling  into  existence, 
and  it  afforded  an  additional  pledge  of  its  final  suc 
cess,  by  furnishing  visible  evidence  of  the  possession 
of  an  enterprise  that  merited  confidence  and  support. 
Though  the  marine  of  the  United  States,  in  the  war 
of  the  revolution,  was  imperfectly  organized,  and 
exceedingly  weak,  the  spirit  of  their  seamen  was 
often  exhibited  in  a  manner  to  show  that  the  nation 
possessed  an  extraordinary  aptitude  to  that  particular 
species  of  service.  Their  discipline  was  not,  nor 
could  not  well  be,  better  than  that  ordinarily  observed 
on  board  of  private  vessels  of  war,  since  the  ships 
were  of  necessity  officered  by  men  taken  from  the 
trading  vessels  of  the  country  ;  still  the  battles  of  that 
period  were  often  bloody  and  severe,  and  were  fre 
quently  attended  with  a  signal  and  brilliant  success. 
At  the  peace  of  '83,  the  half-formed  and  imperfect 
marine  of  the  country  disappeared.  The  confedera 
tion,  as  it  then  existed,  did  riot  admit,  without  an 
unportant  object,  of  the  exercise  of  a  power  that 


WAR    WITH    ALGIERS.  403 

involved  so  serious  an  expense  as  its  maintenance. 
Each  State,  at  that  time,  collected  its  own  imposts, 
and  imposed  its  own  taxes.  A  few  schooners,  for  the 
security  of  the  revenue,  were  kept  in  some  of  the 
larger  seaports ;  but  of  a  navy,  either  in  officers  or 
ships,  there  was  postively  none. 

When  the  constitution  of  the  country,  as  it  now 
exists,  was  adopted  (in  1 789),  Washington  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  country,  filling,  for  the  first  time,  its 
highest  civil  station.  He  recommended  the  construc 
tion  of  a  few  frigates,  in  order  to  protect  its  commerce 
against  the  depredations  of  the  Barbary  powers,  who 
were  then  in  the  fullest  practice  of  those  lawless 
robberies  which  were  so  long  the  scourge  and  dis 
grace  of  the  civilized  world.  This  recommendation 
was  the  foundation  of  the  present  navy  of  the  United 
States.  Though,  so  far  as  the  Algerines  themselves 
were  concerned,  a  war  actually  existed,  no  cruizer 
of  this  country  took  part  in  its  operations.  According 
to  the  fashion  of  that  day,  peace  was  soon  purchased. 
But  the  capture  of  a  few  of  their  unarmed  merchant 
men  had  served  to  apprize  the  Americans  of  the 
absolute  necessity  of  a  marine  to  protect  their  rights 
as  a  commercial  community. 

This  little  affair  was  scarcely  adjusted  before  a 
misunderstanding  occurred  between  the  French  and 
American  republics.  A  sort  of  armed  neutrality  was 
attempted  by  the  latter ;  but,  though  no  declaration 
of  war  was  ever  actually  made,  it  soon  terminated  in 
open  hostilities.  It  was  now  thought  prudent  to  ex 
tend  a  still  greater  protection  to  the  commerce  of  the 
country,  and  a  sudden  and  considerable  increase  to 
the  navy  was  made.  In  order  to  effect  this  purpose, 
it  became  necessary  to  build  or  to  purchase  ships, 
and  to  procure  officers.  Vessels  were  both  bought 
and  constructed,  and  seamen  of  various  degrees  of 
character  were  induced  to  abandon  the  peaceful  for 
the  more  warlike  pursuits  of  their  profession.  A  small 


404  WAR    WITH    FRANCE. 

corps  of  officers  had  been  chosen  to  command  the 
first  half-dozen  frigates  from  among  the  veterans 
who  still  survived  the  great  struggle  for  independence ; 
but  this  was  a  body  soon  exhausted,  especially  as  it 
was  found  necessary  that  a  rigid  selection  should  be 
observed.  To  supply  the  deficiencies,  spirited  and 
skilful  young  men  were  sought  among  the  masters 
and  the  mates  of  the  merchantmen.  A  mixed  marine 
was  by  these  means  created,  though  it  is  scarcely 
possible  not  to  believe  that  in  ships  and  commanders 
there  must  have  existed  the  utmost  inequality  of  merit 
and  of  fitness  for  the  duty  required  of  both.  Still,  as 
the  propensity  of  the  nation  is  so  decidedly  maritime, 
the  war  proved  creditable.  Many  battles  were  fought, 
and  with  a  success  that  was  invariable. 

This  maritime  war  occurred  during  the  presidency 
of  Mr.  Adams.  The  creation  of  a  navy  was  thought 
to  be  a  favourite  measure  of  his  policy ;  and  as  oppo 
sition  grew  warm,  the  wisdom  of  so  early  and  so 
considerable  an  expenditure  of  the  public  money  was 
much  disputed.  Men  who  admitted  that  nature  and 
reason  both  pointed  to  the  ocean  as  the  place  where 
the  rights  of  the  nation  were  to  be  maintained,  still 
affirmed  that  the  measure  was  premature.  The 
country  was  involved  in  a  heavy  debt,  and  the  very 
means  that  were  resorted  to,  in  order  to  protect  the 
wealth  of  the  country,  might  induce  quarrels  which 
would  inevitably  involve  its  loss.  But  this  reason 
ing  did  not  immediately  prevail,  as  the  administra 
tion  contrived  to  keep  its  majorities  in  the  two  houses 
until  near  the  close  of  its  constitutional  period  of 
service. 

In  the  midst  of  these  disputes,  the  grave  determina 
tion  of  the  country  is  to  be  traced  in  its  permanent 
legislative  enactments.  In  1798,  a  navy  department 
was  created,  and  its  Secretary  was  admitted  to  a  seat 
in  the  cabinet.  Notwithstanding  the  clamour  which 
had  been  raised  by  the  opposition  against  the  marine, 


REDUCTION    OF    1801.  405 

when  the  power  passed  into  their  hands  no  very 
serious  blow  was  meditated  or  practised  against  its 
positive  existence.  So  much  had  been  said  on  the 
subject  of  economy,  that  some  reduction  became 
necessary.  Perhaps  in  the  peculiar  circumstances 
under  which  the  officers  and  ships  had  been  collect 
ed,  it  was  prudent.  The  vessels,  which  had  been 
purchased  to  meet  the  emergency,  were  therefore 
sold,  and  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  officers  were 
discharged. 

At  one  time,  during  the  disturbance  with  France, 
near  sixty  public  cruisers  were  employed  on  the 
American  coast,  or  in  the  West  Indies,  under  the  flag 
of  the  republic.  Most  of  them  were  merchantmen 
that  had  been  purchased  and  altered  to  suit  their 
new  destination,  and  many  that  were  expressly  built, 
had  been  constructed  in  a  hurry,  and  of  course  im 
perfectly.  Of  the  officers  it  is  unnecessary  to  say 
more  than  that  they  embraced,  perhaps,  the  very  best 
and  the  very  worst  men  of  their  class.  Most  of  these 
vessels  were  small,  the  largest  only  rating  44,  and  ac 
tually  mounting  54  guns.  The  majority  were  clumsy 
sloops,  carrying  between  16  and  24  guns. 

Now  that  the  heat  of  opposition  has  passed  away, 
the  best-informed  men  candidly  admit  that  there  was 
but  little  inducement  to  retain  officers  or  ships  so 
promiscuously  and  so  hurriedly  assembled.  Notwith 
standing  its  apparent  hostility,  the  new  government, 
while  reducing  the  service,  was  rather  disposed  to 
cherish  a  good  and  efficient  marine  than  to  destroy  it. 

In  1801,  an  act  was  passed,  creating  a  naval  peace 
establishment.  This  was  the  lav  which  gave  form 
and  permanent  existence  to  the  present  marine  of 
the  country. 

By  the  act  of  1801,  the  number  of  the  ships  was 
reduced  to  nine  frigates,  of  various  sizes,  with  a  few 
smaller  vessels.  A  sufficient  number  of  officers  was 
retained  for  their  command.  From  that  hour  to  this, 


406  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI. 

the  corps  has  never  been  reduced  in  the  slightest 
manner,  though  the  army  has  been  the  subject  of 
repeated  increases  and  of  as  frequent  reductions. 
The  boy  who  now  enters  the  navy  a  midshipman, 
enters  it  with  a  conviction  that,  should  he  behave 
with  prudence  and  spirit,  he  has  a  highly  creditable 
employment  for  life. 

The  partial  reduction  of  1801,  gave  the  marine 
department  an  opportunity  of  making  a  selection 
among  the  officers,  as  well  as  among  the  ships.  Per 
sonal  interest,  apart  from  personal  merit,  could  have 
no  great  influence  on  the  movements  of  this  govern 
ment,  especially  in  a  case  of  so  great  notoriety  as 
that  of  a  choice  between  officers  of  any  rank.  The 
captains  retained  were  men  of  character  and  expe 
rience  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  a  finer  corps  of  inferior 
naval  officers,  than  those  who  were  retained  on  this 
occasion,  never  had  an  existence. 

In  1803,  the  bashaw  of  Tripoli  commenced  hostil 
ities  against  the  republic.  Different  squadrons  were 
sent  into  the  Mediterranean  to  oppose  the  depreda 
tions.  His  corsairs  were  driven  from  the  sea,  and 
his  town  was  blockaded.  From  watchfulness,  the 
Americans  soon  proceeded  to  attacks,  until  the  slum 
bers  of  the  Africans  were  almost  nightly  broken  by 
the  assaults  of  their  weak  but  spirited  foes.  The 
history  of  this  war,  in  miniature,  is  remarkable  for 
its  romantic  incidents,  and  for  the  high  daring  of  the 
actors.  A  few  light  cruizers,  with  a  dozen  gun-boats, 
and  a  couple  of  ketches,  backed  by  a  single  frigate, 
would  often  lie  for  hours  under  the  batteries  and 
shipping  of  the  town,  throwing  their  shot  even  into 
the  palace  of  the  barbarian.  On  several  occasions 
the  conflicts  were  still  more  serious.  Battles  were 
fought  in  closest  personal  collision  ;  officers  and  men, 
Christian  and  Turk,  struggling  fiercely  for  the  vic 
tory,  hand  to  hand.  It  was  to  commemorate  the 
names  of  the  brave  youths  who  fell  in  these  sanguinary 


ROMANTIC    ENTERPRISE.  407 

struggles,  that  the  little  monument,  already  named, 
was  erected  in  the  Navy-Yard  -at  Washington. 

The  war  with  Tripoli  was  also  distinguished  hy 
an  enterprise  that  was  as  remarkable  for  its  concep 
tion,  as  for  the  spirit  and  skill  with  which  it  was  con 
ducted.  The  reigning  bashaw  of  Tripoli  was  an  usur 
per,  having,  some  years  before,  expelled  his  brother 
from  the  throne.  The  banished  prince  had  sought  a 
refuge  among  the  Arabs  of  the  desert  in  Upper  Egypt. 
The  American  consul  to  the  regency  of  Algiers,  was 
a  person  of  the  name  of  Eaton.  This  gentleman  had 
once  been  a  captain  in  the  army  of  the  Union.  He 
was  a  man  distinguished  for  his  reckless  courage  and 
for  a  restless  enterprise.  During  the  time  the  squad 
ron  of  his  country  was  employed  in  harassing  the 
town  of  their  enemy,  Mr.  Eaton,  accompanied  by 
two  or  three  officers  of  the  navy,  sought  out  the 
exiled  bashaw  in  the  desert,  and  induced  him  to  lend 
himself  to  an  attempt  to  recover  his  throne.  A  force, 
consisting  of  Arabs,  Turks,  Christians,  and  of  adven 
turers  from  all  countries,  was  soon  assembled.  It 
entered  the  territories  of  Tripoli  by  its  eastern  fron 
tier,  and  advanced  rapidly  upon  Derne,  the  second 
town  of  the  principality.  Here  it  was  met  and  sus 
tained  by  a  few  light  cruizers  from  the  American 
squadron.  A  sharp  skirmish  was  fought  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  town,  and  the  place  was  carried.  A  crisis  was 
evidently  at  hand.  There  was  every  prospect  of 
complete  success  to  this  chivalrous  undertaking,  when 
the  whole  enterprise  was  defeated  by  an  event  as 
mortifying  as  it  was  unexpected.  A  negotiator  had 
just  before  arrived  from  America ;  conceiving  it  to 
be  his  duty  to  terminate  the  war,  he  profited  by  the 
terror  excited  in  the  bosom  of  th€  reigning  bashaw, 
by  the  success  of  his  brother,  and  signed  a  treaty  of 
peace.  But  for  this  premature  occurrence,  the  world 
would  probably  have  witnessed  the  singular  spectacle 
of  a  power  of  the  western  hemisphere  commencing 


408  THE    SYSTEM    OF    GUN-BOATS, 

thus  early  the  work  of  retaliation,  by  setting  up  and 
pulling  down  dynasties  of  the  eastern. 

The  navy  of  the  United  States  owes  most  of  its  dis 
cipline,  and  of  its  high  reputation  for  spirit  and  enter 
prise,  aided  by  the  ambitious  natural  character  of 
the  people,  to  the  experience  it  obtained  in  the  war 
with  Tripoli.  The  young  men  (chiefly  of  the  best  fami 
lies  of  the  country),  who  had  commenced  their  milita 
ry  career  in  the  affair  with  France,  received  their  com 
missions  during,  or  at  the  close  of  this  wrar ;  and  they 
brought  with  them  into  the  higher  ranks  of  the  ser 
vice,  the  feelings  and  habits  so  necessary  to  their 
class.  Officers  were  now  first  seen  in  the  command 
of  vessels,  who  had  regularly  risen  from  the  lowest 
ranks  of  the  service. 

From  the  time  of  the  peace  with  Tripoli  to  that  of 
the  war  of  England,  the  navy  was  employed  in  guard 
ing  the  coast,  and  in  aiding  to  enforce  the  restrictive 
laws  of  the  country.  A  few  light  vessels  were  built, 
and  a  plan  of  defending  the  seaports,  in  the  event  of 
need,  by  gun-boats,  grew  into  favour.  The  American 
naval  officers  say,  that  the  latter  scheme  had  nearly 
proved  fatal  to  the  tone  and  discipline  of  their  service. 
It  was,  however,  of  short  duration,  and  the  subse 
quent  hostilities  completely  proved  its  fallacy.* 


*  Many  absurd  statements,  concerning  the  organization  of  the 
American  navy,  have  been  circulated  in  Europe.  There  is  none 
more  false  or  more  foolish  than  the  story  that  young  mates  of 
merchantmen  are,  or  ever  have  been,  taken  for  the  first  steps  in 
the  service.  Boys,  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  eighteen, 
receive  the  appointments  of  midshipmen,  and  after  having  served 
a  certain  number  of  years,  they  are  examined  for  lieutenants. 
These  examinations  are  very  rigid,  and  they  are  conducted  with 
the  greatest  impartiality.  While  the  writer  was  in  America,  he 
formed  an  intimacy  with  the  commander  of  a  frigate.  One  day 
at  Washington,  he  entered  the  room  of  the  captain,  just  as  a 
naval  officer  of  high  rank  was  quitting  it.  "  You  met  one  of  the 
commissioners  at  the  door,"  said  the  writer's  acquaintance;  "he 
has  been  to  beg  I  would  make  his  son,  who  is  just  ordered  to  my 


THE    NAVY    OF    1812.  400 

In  1812,  the  marine  of  the  United  States  existed 
rather  as  the  nucleus  of  a  future  service,  than  as  a 
force  to  be  directed  to  any  of  the  more  important 
objects  of  warfare.  It  was  sufficient  to  keep  alive 
the  spirit,  and  to  gratify  the  pride  of  the  nation,  but 
not  to  produce  any  serious  result  on  the  great  objects 
of  the  struggle.  So  far  as  1  can  discover,  the  whole 

chip,  mind  his  books.  They  tell  me  the  young  fellow  is  clever 
enough,  and  a  very  good  sailor,  but  he  has  been  twice  defeated 
in  trying  to  get  through  with  his  mathematics,  because  he  will 
not  study."  In  what  other  navy  would  the  son  of  a  lord  of  the 
admiralty  lose  his  commission,  in  two  examinations,  for  want 
of  a  little  mathematics  ? 

The  most  severe  system  of  examination,  not  only  into  profes 
sional  qualifications,  but  into  moral  character,  is  now  rigidly 
observed  in  the  American  army  and  navy.  The  lower  ranks  of 
both  branches  of  their  service,  are  admirably  filled.  Midship 
men,  instead  of  being  taken  from  the  merchant  service,  have 
been  often  taken  from  the  service,  under  furloughs,  to  command 
merchant-ships.  No  man  in  the  world  is  more  jealous  of  his 
rank,  than  the  American  navy  or  army  officer.  It  would  far 
exceed  the  power  of  the  President  to  push  his  own  son  an 
inch  beyond  the  steps  he  is  entitled  to  by  his  age  and  service. 
The  Senate  would  refuse  to  approve  of  such  a  nomination.  The 
same  impartiality  is  observed  in  respect  to  commands.  A  cap 
tain,  or  commander,  is  not  only  sure  of  getting  a  ship,  when  his 
turn  comes,  but  he  must  have  an  excellent  excuse  or  he  will  be 
made  to  take  one.  Both  establishments  are  kept  within  reason 
able  bounds,  and  promotions  are  slow  and  wary.  There  is  not 
a  singie  officer  necessarily  on  half-pay,  either  in  the  land  or  sea 
service.  There  is  not  now,  nor  has  there  been  for  twenty  years, 
an  officer  in  the  American  navy,  in  command  of  A  ship,  the  four 
or  five  oldest  excepted,  who  did  not  regularly  enter  the  marine 
as  a  midshipman.  Even  the  oldest  entered  as  low  as  a  lieuten 
ant,  quite  thirty  years  ago.  A  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  during 
the  war  of  1812,  is  said  to  ha.ve  wished  to  introduce  a  brothel 
from  the  merchant  service,  by  giving  him  the  command  of  a 
cartel,  but  entirely  without  success.  Some  six  or  eight  clever 
men,  wi'o  entered  as  sailing-masters,  a  class  generally  taken 
from  the  merchant  service,  have  been  so  successful  as  to  get 
commissions,  a  favour  a  little  out  of  course,  though  sometimes 
practised  to  reward  merit.  Several  of  these,  even,  were  mid 
shipmen  who  had  resigned,  ar  i  had  re-entered  as  masters,  in 
thrj  war,  because  they  thought  themselves  too  old  to  begin  anew 
as  midshipmen. 

Nn 


410  MISTAKEN    POLICY 

navy  of  the  country,  at  that  timey  consisted  of  the 
following  ships  :  three  frigates,  rating  forty-four  guns 
each,  and  fighting  fifty-four ;  three,  rating  thirty-six, 
and  fighting  fifty  ;  one,  rating  thirty-two,,  and  fighting 
forty-two,  or  forty- four ;  two,  rating  twenty-four,  ind 
fighting  twenty-four  or  twenty-six  ;  and  eight  or  ten 
sloops  and  schooners  carrying  from  ten  to  twenty 
guns.  There  were  three  or  four  more  frigates  of  no 
great  force  :  but  they  were  rotten,  and  never  employ 
ed.  Perhaps  the  whole  marine  might  have  included 
twenty  cruizers  of  all  sizes.  The  events  of  that  pe 
riod  are  so  recent  as  to  be  sufficiently  known.  The 
war  has,  however,  given  a  new  impulse  to  the  marine 
of  this  country,  and  one  which  will  probably  lead  to 
the  introduction  of  its  fleets  into  the  future  contests 
of  Christendom. 

The  English  are  said  to  have  employed  more  than 
a  hundred  sail  of  cruizers  on  the  coast  of  the  United 
States,  between  the  years  1313  and  1815.  Whatever 
might  have  been  the  intentions  of  the  British  govern 
ment,  it  is  very  certain  that  much  useless  annoyance 
was  given  to  peaceful  people  by  the  depredations  of 
some  of  these  vessels.  Even  the  expeditions  which 
were  attempted  on  a  larger  scale,  argued  a  great 
ignorance  of  the  character  of  this  nation,  since  they 
exhibited  a  very  mistaken  application  of  force  to 
attain  what  the  world  has  every  reason  to  believe 
was  the  object  of  the  assailants. 

It  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  English  commanders 
had  determined  to  harass  the  country,  with  a  view  to 
bring  the  war  as  near  as  possible  to  each  man's  door. 
Now,  it  so  happens,  that,  notwithstanding  the  large 
bays  and  deep  rivers  of  this  continent  enabled  those 
who  had  command  of  the  water,  to  do  a  great  deal 
of  injury,  their  attacks  did  not,  nor  could  not,  produce 
the  least  effect  on  the  mass  of  the  nation.  Harassing 
expeditions,  and  burnings,  and  alarms,  might  serve  to 
exasperate,  but  in  no  degree  did  they  serve  to  subdue. 


EFFECTS  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812.       411 

They  often  wounded  the  pride,  and  excited  the  in 
dignation  of  the  Americans,  without  in  the  slightest 
degree  enfeebling  their  power.  A  government  like 
this  is  weak,  or  strong,  for  all  offensive  purposes, 
exactly  in  the  proportion  that  its  efforts  are  popular. 
It  is  well  known  that  a  serious  opposition  to  the  war 
with  England  existed  in  the  country  from  its  com 
mencement  to  its  close.  But  it  is  just  as  well  known, 
that  these  very  acts  of  exasperating  hostility  had 
begun  to  shut  the  mouths  of  the  friends  of  England, 
while  they  permitted  her  enemies  to  declaim  the 
louder.  Had  the  contest  continued  another  year,  it 
is  probable  it  would  have  afforded  a  very  different 
scene.  The  American  government,  strengthened  by 
the  blunder,  and  excited  by  the  inroads  of  its  enemy, 
was  seriously  turning  its  attention  to  the  work  of  re 
taliation.  When  peace  was  unexpectedly  announced, 
two  squadrons  of  fast-sailing  schooners,  bought  for 
the  purpose,  were  about  to  sail  with  orders  to  burn, 
ravage,  and  destroy.  The  firebrand  would  have  gleam 
ed  on  the  island  of  Great  Britain  itself;  and  God  only 
knows  what  horrid  character  the  war  would  have 
next  assumed.  All  experience  shows  that  this  is  a 
nation,  however  patient  and  enduring  it  may  seem 
under  contumely  and  aggression,  which  knows  how 
to  rise  in  its  anger,  and  to  make  itself  dreaded  even 
by  the  strongest. 

But  the  chief  and  the  most  lasting  effect  of  the 
British  policy,  during  the  war  of  1814,  has  been  to 
bring  a  respectable  American  marine  into  a  sudden 
existence.  This  truth  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  the 
Congress,  which,  in  these  matters,  takes  most  of  its 
impulses  from  the  people,  exhibited  the  extraordinary 
policy  of  increasing,  instead  of  reducing,  its  arma 
ments  with  the  peace.  The  whole  nation  saw  and 
felt  the  necessity  of  protecting  their  coast,  and  the 
friends  of  the  navy  have  seized  the  happy  moment  to 
interweave  the  policy  with  their  institutions,  in  such 


412        THE  LAST  WAR  WITH  ALGIERS. 

a  manner  as  to  render  them  henceforth  inseparable, 
That  they  ought  to  be  inseparable,  every  man,  in  the 
least  familiar  with  the  interests  of  this  country,  can 
see ;  but  it  was  a  great  point  gained  to  induce  a  peo 
ple  so  wary  of  expenditure,  to  incur  the  cost  of  a 
marine,  without  an  immediate  demand  for  its  use. 
You  need  not  be  told,  that  without  i  service  in  peace 
a  service  in  war  is  next  to  useless,  since  experience, 
method,  and  even  the  high  spirit  necessary  to  con 
tinued  military  success,  are  all  the  fruits  of  time.  But 
economical  legislators,  who  count  nothing  but  the 
present  cost,  are  not  always  so  sagacious. 

While  passing  rapidly  over  this  subject,  it  may  be 
well  to  mention  the  little  incident  of  the  last  war  with 
Algiers,  since  it  serves  to  show  the  spirit  with  which 
these  people  will  enter  on  all  similar  enterprises, 
when  a  little  more  age  shall  give  maturity  and  strength 
to  their  efforts.  The  barbarians  had  seized  the  op 
portunity  of  the  British  war  to  commit  depredations 
on  the  American  commerce.  No  sooner  was  the 
peace  of  1815  ratified,  than  Congress  issued  a  solemn 
declaration  of  war  against  the  regency.  A  squadron 
immediately  sailed  for  the  Mediterranean,  It  crossed 
the  Atlantic  ;  passed  the  Straits ;  routed  and  destroy 
ed  the  marine  of  their  foe ;  carried  the  war  to  the 
mouth  of  his  harbour ;  and,  in  six  weeks  from  the 
day  of  sailing,  it  dictated  an  honourable  and  lasting 
peace,  under  the  cannon  of  the  city.  Ten  years  be 
fore,  it  had  sued  for  disgraceful  terms  from  an  infe 
rior  power  of  Barbary.  This  was  the  first  treaty,  I 
believe,  in  which  the  right  to  lead  prisoners  into 
slavery  was  formally  disavowed  by  any  of  the  Afri 
can  states. 

During  the  war  with  England,  several  laws  were 
passed,  empowering  the  President  to  add  to  the  ma 
rine.  In  1813,  four  vessels  of  a  force  not  less  than 
seventy-four  guns,  and  six  frigates  of  a  force  not  less 
than  forty-four  guns,  were  authorized.  Squadrons 


LAWS  FOR  THE  INCREASE  OF  THE  NAVY.   413 

were  constructed  on  the  lakes,  and  sloops  of  war, 
of  various  sizes,  were  built,  from  time  to  time.  In 
1816  the  Act  "  for  the  gradual  increase  of  the  Navy 
of  the  United  States1'  was  passed.  By  the  provisions 
of  this  law,  eight  additional  ships  of  the  line,  of  not 
less  than  seventy-four  guns,  and  nine  additional 
frigates  of  not  less*  than  forty-four  guns,  were  com 
manded.  The  President  was  instructed  to  procure 
the  timber  of  three  more  steam-batteries,  which  were 
to  be  put  in  such  a  state  as  to  admit  of  their  soonest 
possible  construction  in  time  of  need.  As  the  object 
of  this  force  was  to  anticipate  the  emergency  of  any 
future  war,  a  sum  of  one  million  of  dollars  was  appro 
priated  annually,  in  order  to  procure  the  timber,  and 
to  insure  the  best  and  most  desirable  construction. 
In  1822,  this  law  was  altered,  so  as  to  extend  the 
time,  and  to  reduce  the  annual  appropriation  one- 
half. 

Various  other  laws  were  passed,  affecting  the  in 
terests  of  the  navy.  Some  were  for  the  improvement 
of  the  officers;  others  for  the  preservation  of  the  live- 
oak,  the  inestimable  material  always  employed  in  the 
construction  of  a  valuable  American  ship.  So  minute 
and  cautious  was  the  interest  taken  in  the  service, 
that  a  law  was  even  passed  to  regulate  the  manner 
in  which  the  vessels  were  to  be  named.  A  ship  of 
the  line  was  to  be  called  after  a  State ;  the  frigates, 
after  rivers ;  and  the  sloops,  after  the  larger  towns. 
The  vessels  authorized  by  the  last  law  are  now  all 
on  the  stocks,  or  they  have  been  already  launched.! 


*  Congress  often  gives  discretionary  power  to  the  President, 
limiting  its  exercise  in  this  manner.  From  this  practice  has 
arisen  the  mistake  that  the  Americans  mean  to  call  three-deckers 
seventy-fours. 

t  While  the  writer  was  in  the  country,  a  law  was  passed  to 

build  ten  additional  sloops  of  war,  and  a  frigate  was  bought 

that  had  been  constructed  for  the  Greeks.     Since  he  has  left 

America,  another  law  has  been  passed,  appropriating  half  a  mil- 

Nn2 


414   THE  ACTUAL  FORCE  OF  THE  AMERICANS. 

The  actual  naval  force  of  this  country  afloat,  or 
which  might  be  put  afloat  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  is  nearly  as  follows  :  one  first-rate ;  eight 
second  ditto,  first  class,  and  three  ditto  of  second 
class ;  nine  third-rates,  first  class,  and  three  ditto  of 
second  class;  and  sixteen  corvettes  and  sloops  of 
war.  To  these  must  be  added  a  few  schooners  and 
light  vessels,  whose  number  is  constantly  varying. 
The  materials  of  one  forty-four  are  also  prepared, 
but,  in  consequence  of  the  purchase  of  a  frigate,  her 
construction  is  temporarily  delayed.  There  appears 
to  be  no  use  in  urging  the  building  of  these  vessels, 
which  are  all  the  better  for  delay,  and  which  are  only 
launched  as  they  are  wanted  for  experiments,  or  for 
actual  service.  Perhaps  we  may  call  the  force  at 
instant  command,  or  which  might  be  fitted  before  the 
crews  could  be  assembled,  at  fifty  sail,  of  all  sizes.* 
This  excludes  the  vessels  on  the  lakes,  the  whole  of 
which  were  sold  by  a  law  of  1 825,  except  two  ships 
of  the  line  (on  the  stocks)  on  Lake  Ontario.  I  ex 
clude  all  vessels  that  are  not  actually  intended  to  go 
to  sea.  If  there  is  any  error,  it  is  in  the  very  smallest 
vessels,  whose  number,  as  I  have  already  said,  is  con- 


lion  of  dollars  annually,  for  six  years,  for  the  purpose  of  purchas 
ing  the  materials  for  vessels  of  the  different  classes  already 
known  in  the  service.  By  the  report  of  the  commissioners,  it 
seems  that  contracts  have  actually  been  made  for  the  frames  of 
five  sail  of  the  line,  five  frigates,  and  five  sloops,  all  of  the  first 
class.  Two  dry  docks  are,  also,  now  in  the  course  of  construc 
tion,  and  a  third  is  much  urged  in  Congress.  A  new  navy-yard 
has  also  been  established  in  Ihe  Gulf  of  Mexico.  A  naval  acad 
emy  is  pressed  by  the  government.  He  believes  these  are  the 
principal  measures  taken  since  the  year  1826. 

*  To  these  must  shortly  be  added,  the  vessels  whose  frames 
and  materials  are  now  in  the  course  of  collection.  The  rapid 
manner  in  which  the  Americans  run  up  a  ship  at  need,  is  well 
known.  It  is  clear,  that  when  the  materials  shall  be  in  readiness, 
their  force  could  easily  be  inc~eased  to  near  or  quite  seventy  sail, 
small  vessels  included. 


THEIR  PROBABLE  FORCE  IN  TIME  OF  WAR.      415 

stantly  varying,  by  shipwrecks,  sales,  and  re-construc 
tions* 

With  what  force  the  Americans  would  absolutely 
put  to  sea,  in  the  event  of  an  immediate  war,  that 
should  call  for  all  their  energy,  might  be  difficult  to 
anticipate.  This  government  is  at  once  both  the 
strongest  and  the  weakest  in  the  world.  It  is  weak 
compared  to  its  wealth  and  physical  means,  in  all 
cases  of  ordinary  offensive  operations,  precisely  as 
other  governments  are  weak  or  strong  in  proportion 
to  the  absolute  nature  of  the  power  they  wield.  But 
in  a  popular  war,  when  power  shall  be  conceded 
freely  to  the  executive,  it  is  so  much  the  stronger  as 
the  government  is  assured  of  a  cordial  and  enthusi 
astic  support.  I  think  the  power  of  the  United  States, 
in  actual  warfare,  will  always  be  found  to  be  exactly 
in  proportion  to  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  cordiality 
with  which  the  mass  of  the  people  shall  enter  into 
.the  views  of  the  administration.  The  present  navy 
of  the  United  States  would  be  formidable  under  any 
-circumstances,  to  all  second-rate  maritime  powers, 
since  the  skill  and  enterprise  of  its  officers,  aided  by 
such  legal  support  as  a  majority  could  always  com 
mand,  would  at  all  times  enable  them  to  act  with 
sufficient  energy  out  of  the  country.  I  think  also, 
in  the  event  of  a  war,  clearly  defensive,  with  any  of 
the  greater  powers,  it  would  be  unwise  to  calculate 
on  having  less  than  the  whole  of  the  marine  to  op 
pose,  and  that  instantly.  But  we  may  form  a  better 
opinion  of  these  matters  by  going  a  little  into  detail. 

It  would  require  about  20,000  men,  to  man  the 
whole  of  the  present  marine  of  this  country.  This 
may  sound  large  to  your  ears,  but  it  is  necessary  to 
remember  how  very  large  a  proportion  of  the  esti 
mated  fifty  sail  are  vessels  of  great  size.  Of  this  num 
ber  more  than  one  thousand  would  be  those  officers, 
who  are  always  retained  as  a  regular  and  durable 
part  of  the  service.  The  fifty  sail  will  carry,  as  near 


416  NUMBER    OF    SEAMEN. 

as  I  can  discover,  about  2,500  guns.  It  is  a  rule  to 
put  one  marine  to  each  gun.  This  proportion,  in 
cluding  officers,  non-commissioned  officers,,  music, 
&c.,  would  make  a  corps  of  troops  of,  we  will  say, 
C2,500.  For  petty  officers  and  seamen  10,000  would 
be  a  very  liberal  allowance,  leaving  a  deficiency  of 
8,500  to  be  composed  of  ordinary  seamen,  landsmen 
and  boys.  These  calculations  may  not  be  critically 
exact,  but  I  think  that  they  are  near  enough  to  the 
truth  to  answer  the  present  object. 

I  think  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  United 
States  possess  30,000  men,  sufficiently  skilful  to  be 
rated  as  seamen,  on  board  a  vessel  of  war.  If  this 
be  admitted,  the  question  is  reduced  to  the  inquiry,, 
of  whether  she  can  induce  one-third  of  her  seamen 
to  serve  in  her  navy. 

The  plenty  or  scarcity  of  mariners  in  the  United 
States,  is  altogether  a  matter  of  demand  and  supply. 
There  is  clearly  no  surplus  population  to  beg  em 
ployment  ;  and  there  is  also  a  general  aptitude  among 
the  natives,  that  enables  them  to  gain  their  living 
in  more  ways  than  one.  A  seaman  is  a  sort  of  arti 
san  ;  and  he  requires  rather  higher  wages  than  the 
labourer  on  shore,  as  a  reward  for  bis  peculiar  skill, 
and  a  compensation  for  his  greater  privation.  It  is  a 
peculiarity  of  this  country,  that  sailors,  especially  in 
New-York,  and  in  all  the  Eastern  States,  are  ofter* 
found  on  land  ;  not  begging  their  bread,  or  sweeping 
the  streets,  but  engaged  in  some  creditable  employ 
ment  that  gives  them  support.  To  meet  any  extra 
ordinary  demand,  these  men  commonly  return  to  the 
sea.  Such  of  them  as  are  impatient  of  a  monotonous 
life,  and  who  are  unwilling  to  serve  for  reduced 
wages,  as  is  at  present  the  case,  seek  employment 
elsewhere.  The  public  and  private  cruizers  of  the 
South  American  States,  abound  with  such  adven 
turers. 

Now,  it  is  rather  a  striking  feature  in  the  character 


ATTACHMENT  TO  THEIR  OWN  COUNTRY.         417 

of  the  lower  orders  of  the  Americans,  that  they 
rarely  lose  their  native  attachments.  They  have  a 
great  and  fixed  contempt  for  all  monarchies.  It  is 
necessary  to  overcome  a  principle  that  has  settled 
into  a  prejudice,  in  order  to  make  them  respect  any 
sort  of  government  but  a  republic.  Money  will  buy 
them,  no  doubt,  but  they  require  to  be  bought.  They 
are  not  accidents  on  the  surface  of  society  that  are 
willing  to  float,  like  most  other  mariners,  whither  the 
current  shall  carry  them,  but  they  are  men  who  can 
only  find  the  opinions  which  lie  at  the  root  of  all 
their  habits,  in  their  native  land.  Unlike  the  subject 
of  any  other  system  on  earth,  the  American,  who  is 
unfortunate,  can  lay  no  part  of  his  calamity  to  his 
country.  He  was  not  born  in  a  region  where  climate, 
or  monopoly,  or  excessive  population,  or  any  other 
adverse  cause,  presses  him  of  necessity  to  the  earth. 
He  retains  in  all  situations  a  respect,  a  love,  and  fre 
quently  a  longing,  for  the  place  of  his  birth.  With 
money  and  opportunity,  America  might  procure  thou 
sands  of  every  nation  in  Europe  to  serve  in  any 
cause ;  but  it  may  be  questioned  if  this  whole  coun 
try  furnishes  one  hundred  men  base  enough  to  enlist 
in  positive  warfare  against  its  institutions  or  rights. 
It  is  a  consequence  of  this  feeling,  that  the  United 
States  are  more  sure  than  other  powers  of  retaining 
to  themselves  that  portion  of  their  population,  which 
has  taken  to  the  sea  for  a  livelihood. 

These  feelings  would  recall,  and  have  recalled,  the 
American  sailor  home,  in  the  moment  of  hostilities ; 
a  time  when  the  mariners  of  other  nations  seek 
opportunities  of  going  abroad.  He  is  not  afraid  to 
stand,  at  any  time,  on  his  native  soil,  for  he  knows 
that  there  is  a  law  for  him  as  well  as  for  other  men. 
Though  he  may  be  the  perfect  master  of  his  own 
movements,  a  sailor  is  eminently  a  social  creature. 
He  is  ever  inclined,  as  you  know  by  experience,  to  fol 
low  a  general  impulse.  I  am  of  opinion  that  in  a  popu- 


418  THE  WAR  OF    1798. 

lar  war,  the  naval  rendezvous  of  this  country  would 
be  thronged ;  though  it  is  certainly  easy  to  conceive 
circumstances  in  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  pro 
cure  men. 

In  the  wai  of  1798—9,  crews  were  often  got  for 
frigates  in  a  single  day.  There  were  two  reasons  for 
this  abundance  of  men.  Privateers  were  not  profit 
able  against  the  trade  of  France,  and  the  conflict 
was  particularly  in  unison  with  the  feelings  of  all 
nautical  men.  In  the  war  with  England,  there  was 
sometimes  a  momentary  difficulty  in  filling  a  crew ; 
but  then  privateers  abounded.  There  was  also  an 
other  reason  why  seamen  were  reluctant  to  enter 
the  national  cruizers,  during  the  war  with  England : 
crews  were  often  transferred,  in  gross,  from  the  sea 
board  to  the  lakes.  The  latter  was  a  service  in  bad 
odour.  There  was  no  prize-money,  nor  did  it  at 
all  accord  with  the  prejudices  of  a  tar,  to  be  running 
in  and  out  of  a  port  on  a  great  fresh- water  pond. 
Still,  near  the  close  of  that  war,  though  the  services 
of  a  great  number  of  men  were  lost  to  the  country, 
by  being  captured  in  privateers,  I  am  told,  that  such 
crews  were  rarely  known  in  the  marine  of  any  nation, 
as  then  began  freely  to  offer  themselves. 

These  are  familiar  reasons  that  must  have  a  greater 
or  less  bearing  on  the  facility  of  procuring  seamen 
for  th  public  service  in  the  United  States.  The  in 
fluence  of  a  popular  impulse  can  scarcely  be  esti 
mated  ;  though  it  is  quite  within  the  reach  of  prob 
ability  that  it  should  be  exceedingly  great.  There  are 
also  other  influences,  which  might  be  very  powerful 
in  producing  a  ready  supply  of  men.  A  war  would 
be  declared,  either  when  many  merchant-ships  were 
at  sea,  or  when  they  were  not.  In  the  former  case 
the  whole  mercantile  community  would  feel  a  direct 
and  powerful  interest  in  manning  their  fleets  ;  and  in 
the  latter,  seamen  would  be  out  of  employ.  Then, 
the  government  could  at  all  times  create  a  monopoly 


MEANS    OF  MANNING    VESSELS.  419 

in  its  own  favour,  by  refusing  to  grant  private  com 
missions,  or  even  by  imposing  an  embargo.  The 
former  has  never  yet  been  done,  because  it  was  the 
policy  of  the  country  to  encourage  privateers,  since, 
heretofore,  they  have  had  no  other  very  efficient 
means  of  annoying  their  enemy. 

On  the  whole,  I  incline  to  the  opinion,  that  the 
fifty  sail,  which  this  country  now  possesses,  could  be 
manned,  in  a  reasonable  time,  without  resorting  to 
any  extraordinary  means  of  inducing  the  men  to  enter. 
Still,  in  a  country  like  this,  so  much  depends  on  the 
particular  impulses  of  the  day,  that  it  is  a  question 
which  will  admit  of  dispute.  A  situation  of  things 
might  be  imagined  in  which  a  ship  of  the  line  would 
readily  get  a  crew  in  a  day,  and  then,  again,  circum 
stances  might  easily  occur  that  would  render  enlist 
ments  tardy  and  reluctant.  This  is  always  supposing 
the  supply  to  be  left  to  the  ordinary  operations  of  trade, 
or  to  thejnfluences  of  popular  excitement.  For  the 
purpose  of  any  long-continued  and  serious  naval  ser 
vice,  the  government  has  in  reserve  most  of  the  ordi 
nary  resources  of  other  nations. 

Although  impressment  is  not,  ought  not  to  be,  nor 
probably  ever  will  be  tolerated  in  the  United  States, 
a  naval  draft  would  be  perfectly  just ;  and  if  it  be  not 
now,  it  might  easily  be  made  constitutional.  As  the 
Jaw  stands,  a  seaman  is  exempted  from  all  mili 
tary  duty,  because  it  is  the  policy  of  the  country  to 
encourage  its  commerce.  But  there  is  clearly  no 
reason  in  natural  justice  why  a  sailor  should  not  risk 
his  life  in  defence  of  the  rights  of  his  fellow-citizens 
as  well  as  a  landsman.  This  point  being  admitted,  it 
is  both  more  politic  and  more  humane  that  he  should 
perform  the  duty  on  an  element  to  which  he  is  ac 
customed,  and  in  a  service  that  he  understands,  than 
by  doing  violence  to  his  habits  by  becoming  a  soldier. 
There  are  a  variety  of  ways  in  which  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  might  even  now,  with  per- 


420  INCREASING    FORCE   OF   THE    COUNTRY. 

feet  legality,  place  most  of  the  seamen,  which  actually 
exist  in  the  country,  more  or  less  at  its  own  disposal, 
I  have  already  mentioned  an  embargo  a&  one  power 
ful  means  of  manning  a  fleet. 

It  is  not  an  exaggerated  estimate  to  suppose  that, 
shortly  after  the  commencement  of  the  war  with 
England,  10,000  men  were  serving  in  the  American 
privateers.  This  number  alone,  added  to  the  crews 
in  the  regular  service  at  the  same  period,  would  more 
than  man  the  whole  of  the  present  force  of  the  coun 
try.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  what  the  nation 
did  with  a  population  of  8,000,000,  and  a  tonnage  of 
1 ,200,000,  it  could  now  do,  with  far  greater  facility, 
with  a  population  of  12,000,000,  and  a  tonnage  of 
near  1,600,000. 

In  almost  every  war  into  which  the  United  States- 
can  enter,  their  operations  must,  of  necessity,  be  con 
ducted  on  the  water.  Canada  and  Mexico  excepted, 
they  have  no  immediate  neighbours  on  the  laud.  But  a 
war  with  Canada  would  be  a  war  with  England,  and 
the  experience  of  the  contest  of  1 812,  has  taught  the 
Americans,  that  neither  their  commerce  nor  their 
shores  are  safe  in  such  a  war  without  a  marine.  Their 
growing  fleet  owes  its  existence  solely  to  this  convic 
tion.  The  present  naval  force  of  the  country,  com 
pared  to  that  which  it  possessed  in  1812,  is  already 
as  twenty  to  one :  not  in  the  actual  number  of  the 
vessels,  certainly,  but  in  their  size,  and  in  their  con 
sequent  ability  to  resist,  or  to  attack.  In  1812,  the 
Americans  could  show  but  seven  frigates,  only  three 
of  which  were  of  any  magnitude,  while  now  they 
might  show  a  line  of  twenty-seven  sail,  the  smallest 
vessel  in  which  should  be  the  largest  vessel  they 
possessed  in  1812,  and  the  largest  a  ship  of  six  times 
the  force  of  the  latter.  This  change  denotes,  to  say 
the  least,  a  serious  intention  to  protect  themselves. 

The  situation  of  the  United  States  calls  for  no 
very  hasty,  or  over-jealous  vigour,  in  military  prepa- 


COUNTRY    FILLING    UP.  421 

ration.  The  people  of  the  country  know  their  unnval- 
led  advantages.  A  war  like  that  which  England  lately 
waged  with  France,  a  war  of  twenty  years,  would,  if 
America  were  a  party,  be  commenced  with  a  nation 
of  12,000,000,  and  be  ended  with  one  of  20,000,000 
of  souls!  In  the  security  of  their  remote  position, 
and  of  their  rapidly  increasing  strength,  the  people 
of  this  country  are  in  no  hurry  to  spend  their  money. 
Their  actual  fleet,  instead  of  being  a  forced  and  pre 
mature  establishment,  is  rather  the  result  of  inevitable 
circumstances.  What  nation  before  this  was  ever 
known  to  have  1,200,000  tons  of  shipping,  with  seven 
frigates  and  eight  or  ten  small  cruizers  for  its  protec 
tion  ?  It  appears  to  me,  that  so  far  from  considering 
the  present  maritime  force  of  the  United  States  as 
the  utmost  they  can  do,  it  ought  to  be  considered 
rather  as  the  result  of  what  they  cannot  help  doing. 
Money,  skill,  materials,  pride,  interest,  and  even  ne 
cessity,  unite  to  give  birth  to  their  fleets.  The  sur 
prise  should  not  be,  that  they  are  now  creating  a 
marine,  but  that  they  have  so  long  neglected  the 
duty.  I  am  of  opinion,  that  the  past  will  be  a  guide 
for  the  future,  in  this  respect.  The  United  States 
may  be  driven  to  an  exercise  of  their  energies ;  but, 
if  left  to  themselves,  it  will  be  found  that  all  their 
military  establishments  will  rather  follow  than  lead 
the  country.  The  natural  order  of  things  will  accu 
mulate  the  power  of  the  republic  quite  fast  enough 
for  its  own  happiness,  or  for  the  peace  of  the  world. 

Until  now  the  Americans  have  been  tracing  the 
outline  of  their  great  national  picture.  The  work 
of  filling  up  has  just  seriously  commenced.  The  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  the  Lakes  of  Canada,  the  Prairies,  and  the 
Atlantic,  form  the  setting.  They  are  now,  in  sub 
stance,  a  vast  island,  and  the  tide  of  emigration,  which 
has  so  long  been  flowing  westward,  must  have  its  re 
flux.  Adventurers  in  the  arts,  in  manufactures,  in 
commerce,  and  in  short,  in  every  thing  else,  are  al- 
Oo 


422  EMIGRATION  BEGINNING  TO  CEASE. 

ready  beginning  to  return  from  the  western  to  the 
eastern  borders.  It  is  true  that  the  force  of  the  cur 
rent  is  still  toward  the  newer  countries,  but  the  time 
is  near  for  those  regions  to  give  back  some  of  their 
increase.  Thousands  of  single  men  already  find  their 
way  from  Vermont,  from  the  western  counties  of 
New- York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  from  even  Ohio, 
to  the  sea-shores,  as  labourers  and  traders.  Popula 
tion  is  becoming  dense,  and  as  it  accumulates  it  will 
acquire  the  energy  of  a  concentrated  force. 

Although  ages  must  elapse  before  necessity  shall 
drive  man  to  beggary,  or  to  abject  dependence,  in  the 
United  States,  the  time  for  a  more  regular  increase 
of  the  people  over  the  whole  surface  has  commenced. 
It  is  true,  that  large  districts  still  remain  empty ;  but 
a  variety  of  causes  has,  in  the  first  place,  a  tendency 
to  retard  their  settlement,  and,  in  the  second  place,  it 
must  be  remembered  how  much  sooner  12,000,000 
can  fill  a  vacuum  than  4,000,000. 

The  people  of  the  older  States  are  getting  a  taste 
for  the  arts  and  comforts  of  life,  that  disinclines  vast 
numbers  to  encounter  the  privations  .of  the  forest. 
New-England,  the  great  hive  of  emigrants,  was  a 
comparatively  sterile  and  unfavoured  region;  and, 
twenty  years  ago,  it  possessed  few  other  employments 
than  those  of  husbandry.  But  climate,  richness  of 
soil,  and  moral  considerations  included,  the  more 
eligible  parts  of  the  country  are  now  occupied.  The 
emigrant  (of  1790,  and  of  1800)  to  New-York  or  to 
Ohio,  returned  with  accounts  of  advantages  to  which 
the  inhabitant  of  Massachusetts  or  Connecticut  was  a 
stranger ;  but  the  emigrant  to  Illinois,  to  Indiana,  to 
Kentucky,  or  to  Missouri,  is  apt  to  pine  for  things 
that  he  has  left  behind  him.  Manufactures,  and  the 
thousand  additional  pursuits  of  a  growing  wealth,  are 
beginning  to  chain  men  to  their  birth-places.  The 
effects  are  already  to  be  traced  is  the  returns  of  the 
population. 


PRESENT  MANNER  OF  MANNING  SHIPS.     423 

New- York  has  been  what  is  termed  an  emigrating 
State,  these  twenty  years,  and  yet  her  population  has 
increased  near  18  per  cent,  within  the  last  five.* 

Although  the  supply  of  seamen  must,  for  many 
years,  be  limited  to  the  demand,  since  men  can  find 
support  in  other  employments,  the  government  can 
at  any  time  create  a  demand  of  its  own,  in  order  to 
keep  up  the  number  necessary  for  the  two  services — 
viz.  the  navy  and  that  of  commerce.  Hitherto  no 
artificial  means  of  creating  seamen  have  been  adopted. 
The  government  has  as  yet  had  no  motive  for  such 
extraordinary  care.  They  employ,  in  point  of  fact, 
only  about  twenty  sail.t  These  vessels  are  manned 
by  a  very  simple  system,  and  with  little  or  no  diffi 
culty.  Rendezvous  are  opened  in  the  different  ports 
when  men  are  needed  ;  and,  as  they  enter,  they  are 
placed  on  board  of  receiving  vessels,  where  they  con 
tinue  until  a  draft  is  made  for  a  crew.  They  pay  no 
bounty,  nor  do  the  wages  ever  vary  to  meet  the  fluc 
tuations  in  the  price  of  seamen's  wages  in  the  mer 
chantmen.  The  wages  of  a  seaman  are,  however, 
something  higher  than  those  paid  by  any  other  nation 
to  men  in  the  public  service.]:  When  the  ships  are 

*  The  births  exceeded  the  deaths,  in  New- York,  (1825)  38,840 
souls ;  or  at  a  rate  that,  notwithstanding  emigration,  would 
double  its  population  once  in  forty  years. 

t  The  actual  force  of  cruizers  in  commission  (1828)  is  one  ship 
of  the  line,  six  frigates,  two  corvettes,  ten  sloops,  and  four 
schooners.  These  vessels,  including  the  ordinary,  are  manned 
by  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighteen  men. 

if  A  captain,  commanding  a  ship  of  any  force,  receives  100 
dollars  a  month,  and  eight  rations  a  day;  if  he  command  a  small 
ship,  his  pay  is  75  dollars,  and  six  rations.  The  pay  of  the  other 
classes  is  as  follows  : — master  commandant,  60  dollars,  five  ra 
tions  ;  lieutenant  commandant,  50  dollars  and  four  rations; 
lieutenant,  40  dollars  and  three  rations  ;  master,  40  dollars  and 
two  rations;  past-midshipman,  25  dollars  and  two  rations;  mid 
shipman,  19  dollars  and  one  ration ;  boatswain,  gunner,  sail- 
maker,  and  carpenter,  20  dollars  and  two  rations  ;  petty  officers, 
19  dollars  and  one  ration;  seaman,  12  dollars  and  one  ration; 


424  MOTIVES    TO    SERVE. 

manned,  orders  are  given  to  stop  the  enlistments, 
The  supply  varies,  of  course,  a  crew  being  sometimes 
obtained  in  a  few  days,  and  sometimes  not  in  many 
weeks. 

As  the  Americans  add  to  the  number  of  vessels  em- 
ployed  in  their  service,  they  will,  certainly,  facilitate 
the  means  of  a  supply  by  increasing  the  demand.  The 
great  outlet  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  the  path  of  ad 
venture,  and  the  only,  at  least  the  principal,  theatre 
for  military  achievements  open  to  the  people  of  this 
country,  is  on  the  ocean.  It  is  only  necessary  to  in 
vite  adventurers,  to  attract  to  their  flag  all,  whom 
restlessness,  ambition,  misfortune,  enterprise,  or  ne 
cessity,  shall  induce  to  wander. 

The  progress  of  the  physical  force  of  this  country 
is  not  to  be  calculated  by  that  of  other  nations.  Inde 
pendently  of  the  gross  amount  of  numbers,  and  the 
rate  at  which  the  population  increases,  there  is  an 
other  important  fact  to  be  considered  in  making  all 
our  estimates  of  the  future  power  of  this  nation. 
When  we  say  that  America,  with  so  many  millions 
of  people,  has  done  this  or  that  much,  has  furnished  so 
many  soldiers,  or  so  many  seamen,  it  is  necessary  to 
remark  how  very  large  a  proportion  of  the  population 
are  of  an  age  to  be  dependants,  instead  of  actors.  In 
1820,  17,1 1  of  the  whole  population  were  boys  under 
ten  years  of  age.  Including  girls,  rather  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  population  had  not  yet  reached  that  tender 

ordinary  ditto,  10  dollars  and  one  ration ;  boys,  6  dollars  and 
one  ration ;  chaplain  and  purser,  40  dollars  and  two  rations ; 
surgeon,  50  dollars  and  two  rations ;  surgeon's  mate,  30  dollars 
and  two  rations;  captain  of  marines,  40  dollars  and  two  rations; 
first  lieutenant  ditto,  30  dollars  and  two  rations ;  second  ditto, 
25  dollars  and  three  rations,  &c.  &c.  The  rations  of  all  the 
officers  are  paid  in  money,  if  required,  at  the  rate  of  25  cents  a 
day  for  each,  except  the  marines,  who  receive  army  pay  and 
allowances.  An  army  ration  is  worth  20  cents  a  day.  It  is, 
however,  intended  to  increase  the  pay  of  most  of  the  officers. 
See  note  B.  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


AMERICA   AS    A   MARITIME    POWER.  425 

period  of  life.  So  far,  therefore,  from  being  assistants, 
they  had  been  clogs  to  the  exertions  of  their  parents. 
Of  7,856,269  whites  in  the  country  at  the  census  of 
1 820,  3,840,899  were  under  sixteen  years  of  age.  It 
is  a  natural  fact  that  the  commerce  of  the  country 
should  grow  with  its  population;  but  it  is  evident  that 
the  ability  to  furnish  a  supply  of  men,  for  all  purposes, 
must  increase  in  an  augmenting  ratio.  The  propor 
tion  between  whole  numbers  and  active  agents  has 
not  yet  reached  the  level  of  Europe,  and  the  Ameri 
can  is,  therefore,  entitled  to  so  much  greater  credit 
for  what  his  country  has  done,  since,  even  supposing 
other  things  equal,  it  has  certainly  been  done,  in  con 
sequence  of  this  peculiarity,  with  a  comparatively 
diminished  force. 

The  United  States  would  certainly  take  a  new 
position  in  the  event  of  another  general  war.  So  far 
from  being  again  the  prey  of  the  belligerents,  she 
would  (unless  an  actor)  be  a  neutral,  whose  weight, 
thrown  into  either  scale,  might  make  her  a  power  to 
be  dreaded  on  the  ocean.  England  herself  would 
find  the  fifty,  or  a  hundred  sail,  which  these  people 
could,  and,  no  doubt,  would  employ,  highly  embar 
rassing.  The  country,  without  precocious,  or  un 
natural  efforts,  has  reached  the  point  when  it  has 
become  an  important  ally.  The  West  India  seas 
would  even  now  lie  greatly  at  her  mercy,  especially 
if  England,  or  France,  had  enemies  nearer  home.  In 
a  very  few  years  this  republic  will  not  be  very  wary 
as  to  its  choice  of  a  foe,  and  in  yet  a  few  more,  it  will 
be  able  to  meet  fearlessly  the  greatest  power  of  the 
earth  in  any  way  that  man  can  elect  for  the  gratifica 
tion  of  his  lawless  propensities. 

Still  I  think  that  the  government  of  the  United 
States  will  not  be  very  dangerous  by  its  ambition. 
That  it  will  sweep  its  coasts  of  every  hostile  hold ; 
that  Bermuda,  and  all  such  places,  will  come  into 
the  possession  of  the  Americans  in  the  course  of  the 
Oo  2 


426  AMERICA    AS   A   MARITIME    POWER. 

next  half  century,  no  man  can  doubt,  who  has  seen 
how  sagaciously  they  have  already  arranged  their 
frontiers,  and  who  knows  how  to  estimate  their  grow 
ing  strength.  In  fifty  years  it  is  physically  ertain 
that  these  States  will  contain  fifty  millions  of  souls. 
This  number,  supposing  that  the  present  marine 
should  increase  only  in  a  numerical  proportion,  would 
give  them  a  navy  of  rather  more  than  two  hundred 
sail,  of  which  one  hundred  and  twenty  would  carry 
more  than  fifty-four  guns.  With  an  empire,  compact, 
natural,  and  so  constituted  as  to  require  no  artificial 
defence,  this  alone  would  be  a  more  available  force 
than  three  times  the  number  employed  in  protecting 
distant  colonies  and  divided  interests.  The  game 
which  England  has  played  with  America,  in  their 
two  wars,  by  striking  at  the  weak  and  most  exposed 
points,  America  will  be  able  to  play  with  England, 
in  the  course  of  the  next  twenty  years.  It  would  be 
too  dangerous  an  experiment  to  lie  in  her  rivers  and 
bays,  even  now,  with  the  advanced  improvements  in 
stearn ;  and  as  to  their  ports,  they  will,  shortly,  be 
beyond  aggression.  The  American  citizen,  a  little 
drilled,  is  as  good  a  soldier,  in  a  fort,  as  any  man  in 
the  world.  •  The  last  war  abundantly  proved  that  no 
numbers  can  expel  active  and  skilful  seamen  from 
the  ocean ;  and  any  one  can  calculate  what  an  effi 
cient  fleet  of  twenty  sail  might  do  against  a  divided 
empire.  I  know  no  more  unsafe  calculation  than  to 
rely  on  the  inactivity  of  an  American  sailor. 

But  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  the  force  and 
wealth  of  nations  are  not  so  much  in  proportion  to 
their  numbers  as  to  their  advancement  in  the  arts  of 
life,  and  to  their  moral  superiority.  In  every  thing 
that  constitutes  general  moral  superiority,  these  peo 
ple  are  already  in  the  foremost  rank.  Their  popu 
lation  is  getting  compact;  and  as  manufactures  in 
crease,  and  the  usual  divisions  of  employments  follow, 
they  will  become  rich  in  a  geometrical  progression. 


AMERICA    AS    A  MARITIME    POWER.  427 

Should  there  be  a  necessity  for  such  a  force,  there  is 
far  more  probability  that  their  marine  will  contain 
one  thousand  than  two  hundred  sail  in  the  year  1875. 

Nor  do  I  find  a  single  plausible  reason  for  disbe 
lieving  this  result.  Should  a  separation  of  the  States 
occur,  an  event  quite  as  improbable  as  any  other  act 
of  suicide,  and  just  as  possible  as  all  suicides,  the 
commercial  and  manufacturing  States  would  still 
keep  together.  I  think,  if  any  thing,  their  marine 
would  be  larger  than  if  the  confederation  should 
exist  as  it  now  stands,  since  there  would  be  but  one 
opinion  on  its  policy,  arid  its  size  would  clearly  be  a 
matter  of  greater  necessity. 

I  know  but  one  other  material  point  to  be  con 
sidered  in.  examining  the  American  marine.  With 
reference  to  its  immediate  growth,  the  finances  of  the 
country  and  the  cost  of  ships  are  important.  The 
debt  of  the  United  States  is  about  60,000,000  of  dol 
lars,*  the  revenue  rather  more  than  21,000,000, 
without  taxes.  Including  comparatively  heavy  sums 
paid  to  build  fortifications,  and  a  half  million,  each 
year,  to  the  increase  (not  to  the  repairs)  of  the  ma 
rine,!  the  whole  expenditure  is  about  13,000,000  of 
dollars.  This  leaves  an  excess  by  which  the  debt 
will  be  entirely  extinguished  in  a  few  more  years  of 
peace.  A  fair  proportion  of  the  moneys  that  shall 
then  remain  will,  beyond  a  doubt,  be  used  in  foster 
ing  so  interesting  an  arm  of  the  public  defence  as  the 
navy. 

The  American  ships,  considering  their  quality,  are 
about  as  cheap  as  those  of  England.  Some  articles 
are  less  costly,  others  more  expensive.  I  find  that 
the  Columbus,  a  ship  on  two  decks,  pierced  for  one 

*  It  is  actually  66,000,000,  but  the  balance  was  created  for 
the  purchase  of  bank-stock,  which  pays  an  interest,  and  which 
can  be  sold  without  difficulty. 

t  This  appropriation  has  been  lately  extended  to  six  more 
years. — Sec  note  A.  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


428  RATING    OF    SHIPS. 

hundred,  and  mounting  about  ninety-two  or  ninety- 
four  guns,  stands  charged,  nearly  ready  for  sea,  at 
426,931  dollars;  the  North  Carolina,  launched,  but 
not  finished,  at  343,251  ;  Delaware  ditto,  at  375,735, 
and  the  Ohio*  303,000.  The  Potomac  frigate  was 
launched  for  157,320  dollars,  and  the  Brandy  wine, 
nearly  completed  for  sea,  for  261,876.  The  two 
latter  are  pierced  for  sixty  guns,  and  actually  mount 
fifty-six.? 

Before  closing  this  long,  but  I  trust,  to  you,  not 
tiresome,  letter,  I  will  allude  to  another  topic.  The 
Americans  have  been  ignorantly  and  coarsely  charged 
with  deception  on  the  subject  of  their  navy.  It  has 
been  said  that  they  constructed  vessels  of  extraordi 
nary  magnitude,  and  gave  to  them  the  appellations 
and  rates  of  frigates.  What  is  the  fact  1  Frigates,  as 
you  very  well  know,  were  originally  ships  of  one  gun- 
deck,  with  a  regular  quarter-deck  and  forecastle,  on 
both  of  which  guns  can  be  mounted.  At  first,  the  two 
latter  decks  were  smaller  than  was  necessary,  and 
the  frigates  were  rated  at  the  precise  number  of  guns 
that  they  carried.  Thus  a  ship  that  formerly  carried 
twenty-eight  guns  on  her  gun-deck,  and  ten  guns  on 
her  quarter-deck  and  forecastle,  was  called,  in  the 
English  navy,  a  thirty-eight.  In  course  of  time  four 
teen  guns  were  placed  on  the  quarter-deck  of  the 
same  sort  of  ship  (a  little  enlarged),  and  eight  ports 
were  cut  in  the  forecastle,  so  that  she  could,  and  did, 
mount  fifty  guns.  Some  of  them  were  even  pierced 


*  In  the  state  in  which  she  was  seen  by  Mr.  De  Roos,  or 
nearly  so. 

t  No  American  frigate,  or  ship  of  the  line,  with  the  exception 
of  a  64  built  for  the  Greeks,  and  recently  purchased  into  the  ser 
vice,  mounts,  or  has  mounted,  during  the  last  five-and-twenty 
years,  guns  in  the  waist.  The  waists  (since  the  last  war)  have 
been  pierced  for  guns,  in  order  that  they  may  be  shifted  over  to 
batter  a  town,  or  to  defend  a  vessel  at  anchor,  &c.  &c.  but  ham 
mocks  are  always  stov  ed  there  as  in  other  vessels  of  war. 


RATING    OF    SHIPS.  429 

for  more.  Between  the  frigates  and  the  ships  of  the 
line  was  a  sort  of  mongrel  class  that  properly  belong 
ed  to  neither.  They  had  the  construction  of  the  lat 
ter,  though  their  force  was  but  little  superior  to  the 
foimer.  These  vessels  were  called  fifties  and  forty- 
fours.  When  the  Americans  first  formed  their  marine 
there  was  little  method  in  its  arrangement  or  classi 
fication.  Ships  like  the  English  thirty-eights  were 
commonly  called  thirty-sixes.  But  experience  had 
shown  that  a  larger-sized  frigate  might  be  built  to 
advantage  ;  and  they  were  not  disposed  to  perpetuate 
the  mistaken  notions  of  others.  They  constructed 
ships,  on  one  deck,  to  carry  thirty  guns  below  (twen 
ty-four  pounders),  and  twenty-four  guns  on  the  quar 
ter-deck  and  forecastle.  But  so  far  from  attempting 
any  deception  in  the  manner  of  rating,  they  called 
them  after  the  intermediate  class  already  named, 
viz.,  forty-fours.  Even  the  Chesapeake,  the  smallest 
thirty-eight  (according  to  the  English  method  of 
rating)  ever  known  in  their  service,  was,  for  a  long 
time,  through  carelessness,  or  ignorance,  termed  a 
forty-four;  because,  at  first,  she  actually  mounted 
forty-four  guns  ;  while  the  New- York,  a  larger  ship, 
though  of  fewer  guns,  was  called  a  thirty-six.  The 
Essex,  a  proper  English  thirty-two,  was  called  a 
thirty-two ;  while  the  John  Adams,  and  the  Adams, 
both  much  inferior  vessels,  in  size  and  in  guns,  were 
rated  the  same. 

Now  all  these  vessels  were  sent  openly  to  sea, 
were  visited  freely,  and  were  approved  of  or  con 
demned  by  the  officers  of  all  the  navies  in  the  world. 
Some  nations  sneered  at  what  the  Americans  deemed 
an  improvement,  and  some  imitated  it.  Time  has 
shown  that  the  latter  were  the  wisest. 

Deception  is  a  word  more  unjustly  applied  to  this 
nation  than  to  any  on  ear:h.  There  is  scarcely  a 
secret  even  pretended  to  be  kept  in  its  whole  govern 
ment  or  police.  Every  year  the  fullest  and  most  satis- 


430  UNCERTAINTY    OF    RATING. 

factory  documents,  concerning  its  army,  its  finances, 
and  every  thing  else,  are  published  to  all  who  choose 
to  read  them.  Their  navy-yards  and  arsenals  are 
open  to  every  applicant.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that 
foreign  officers  have  accused  these  people  of  a  wish  to 
practise  deception,  because  they  have  discovered  im 
provements  in  their  navy-yards,  while  unreservedly 
enjoying,  themselves,  privileges  that  would,  in  their 
own  countries,  be  denied  to  an  American  seaman. 
The  officers  of  this  country  say  that  they  are  satisfied 
with  the  manner  in  which  their  own  marine  is  con 
ducted.  If  other  people  have  a  reason  for  changing 
their  system  of  classification,  let  them  do  it,  it  is  alto 
gether  an  affair  of  their  own.  The  object  of  rating 
at  all  is  to  understand  the  relative  size  and  force  of 
ships  in  the  same  service.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  con 
vention  between  nations.  When  an  officer  cap 
tures  an  enemy,  or  is  captured  by  one,  he  is  a  fool 
if  he  does  not  state  the  actual  force  of  his  antagonist, 
he  is  only  a  knave  when  he  conceals,  or  misrepre 
sents  it.  Besides,  they  say,  and  justly  enough,  that 
the  number  of  guns  is  no  good  criterion  of  the  force 
of  a  vessel.  An  English  thirty-two  (old  rate)  and  a 
thirty-six  might,  and  often  did,  carry  nearly  the  same 
number  of  guns  (from  forty  to  forty-four  guns),  but 
the  latter  is  one-fourth  larger,  stronger,  and  heavier, 
and,  of  course,  more  formidable,  than  the  former.* 

That  there  was  great  inaccuracy  in  the  rating  of 
the  American  ships  before  and  during  the  last  war,  is 


*  A  ship  carrying  eighteen  twenty-four  pound  carronades, 
and  a  ship  of  eighteen  thirty-two  pound  carronades,  would  be 
rated  the  same,  if  the  number  of  guns  were  to  be  the  only 
guide;  whereas,  if  one  should  be  called  a  sixteen,  and  the  other 
an  eighteen,  the  mind  would  conceive  a  sufficiently  just  idea  of 
the  difference  in  force  which  actually  existed.  There  are  sc 
many  considerations  that  properly  enter  into  the  estimate  of 
force  in  a  vessel,  that  no  one  of  them  all  can  be  safely  taken  as 
a  rule. 


SINGULARITY  IN  THE  AMERICAN  MARINE.        431 

certain ;  but  it  is  just  as  certain  it  was  oftener  against 
their  reputation  than  in  their  favour.  They  had  three 
large  frigates,  and  these  they  honestly  called  by  the 
rates  of  vessels  which  fifty  years  since  fought  in  the 
line.  It  must  be  remembered  these  three  vessels  have 
been  built  thirty  years.  They  oftener  over  than  un 
derrated  their  other  frigates.  The  same  was  true  of 
their  sloops  of  war.  The  Argus,  (brig,)  for  instance, 
a  vessel  a  third  lighter  every  way  than  the  regular 
eighteen,  was  rated  in  that  class.  The  Nautilus, 
Vixen,  Ferret,  &c.,  were  also  overrated. 

No  nautical  man,  fit  to  command  a  vessel,  would 
trust  to  any  rate  but  that  of  his  own  judgment.  If 
any  people  have  got  into  difficulty  by  undervaluing 
their  enemies,  it  is  far  more  manful  to  confess  their 
mistake,  than  to  call  improvements,  which  they  are 
eager  to  imitate,  by  so  coarse  a  term  as  deception. 
In  this  manner,  clever  men  are,  without  bounds  or 
moderation,  deceiving  the  rest  of  mankind  daily. 


TO  THE  ABBATE  GIROMACHI, 


Washington, 

You  ask  me  to  write  freely  on  the  subject  of  the 
literature  and  the  arts  of  the  United  States.  The 
subjects  are  so  meagre  as  to  render  it  a  task  that 
would  require  no  small  portion  of  the  talents  neces 
sary  to  figure  in  either,  in  order  to  render  them  of 
interest.  Still,  as  the  request  has  come  in  so  urgent 
a  form,  I  shall  endeavour  to  oblige  you. 

The  Americans   have   been  placed,   as   respects 


432  EARLIEST  PUBLICATIONS. 

moral  and  intellectual  advancement,  different  from 
all  other  infant  nations.  They  have  never  been  with 
out  the  wants  of  civilization,  nor  have  they  ever 
been  entirely  without  the  means  of  a  supply.  Thus 
pictures,  and  books,  and  statuary,  and  every  thing 
else  which  appertains  to  elegant  life,  have  always 
been  known  to  them  in  an  abundance,  and  of  a  qual 
ity  exactly  proportioned  to  their  cost.  Books,  being 
the  cheapest,  and  the  nation  having  great  leisure  and 
prodigious  zest  for  information,  are  not  only  the  most 
common,  as  you  will  readily  suppose,  but  they  are 
probably  more  common  than  among  any  other  peo 
ple.  I  scarcely  remember  ever  to  have  entered  an 
American  dwelling,  however  humble,  without  finding 
fewer  or  more  books.  As  they  form  the  most  essen 
tial  division  of  the  subject,  not  only  on  account  of 
their  greater  frequency,  but  on  account  of  their  far 
greater  importance,  I  shall  give  them  the  first  notice 
in  this  letter. 

Unlike  the  progress  of  the  two  professions  in  the 
countries  of  our  hemisphere,  in  America  the  printer 
came  into  existence  before  the  author.  Reprints  of 
English  works  gave  the  first  employment  to  the  press. 
Then  came  almanacs,  psalm-books,  religious  tracts, 
sermons,  journals,  political  essays,  and  even  rude  at 
tempts  at  poetry.  All  these  preceded  the  revolution. 
The  first  journal  was  established  in  Boston  at  the 
commencement  of  the  last  century.  There  are  sev 
eral  original  polemical  works  of  great  originality  and 
power  that  belong  to  the  same  period.  I  do  not  know 
that  more  learning  and  talents  existed  at  that  earl}' 
day  in  the  States  of  New-England  than  in  Virginia, 
Maryland  and  the  Carolinas,  but  there  was  certainly 
a  stronger  desire  to  exhibit  them. 

The  colleges  or  universities,  as  they  were  some 
what  prematurely  called,  date  very  far  back  in  the 
brief  history  of  the  country.  There  is  no  stronger 
evidence  of  the  intellectual  character,  or  of  the  judi- 


COLLEGES  OR    I  NIVERSITIES.  433 

cious  ambition  of  these  people,  than  what  this  simple 
tact  furnishes.  Harvard  College,  now  the  university 
of  Cambridge — (it  better  deserves  the  title  at  this 
day) — was  founded  in  1638;  within  less  than  twenty 
mars  after  the  landing  of  the  first  settlers  in  New- 
England!  Yale  (in  Connecticut)  was  founded  in 
1701.  Columbia  (in  the  city  of  New-York)  was 
founded  in  1754.  Nassau  Hall  (in  New-Jersey)  in 
1738;  and  William  and  Mary  (in  Virginia)  as  far 
back  as  1691.  These  are  the  oldest  literary  institu 
tions  in  the  United  States,  and  all  but  the  last  are  in 
flourishing  conditions  to  the  present  hour.  The  first 
has  given  degrees  to  about  five  thousand  graduates, 
and  rarely  has  less  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  or 
four  hundred  students.  Yale  is  about  as  well  attend 
ed.  The  others  contain  from  a  hundred  and  fifty  to 
two  hundred  under-graduates.  But  these  are  not  a 
moiety  of  the  present  colleges,  or  universities,  (as 
they  all  aspire  to  be  called,)  existing  in  the  country. 
There  is  no  State,  except  a  few  of  the  newest,  with 
out  at  least  one,  and  several  have  two  or  three. 

Less  attention  is  paid  to  classical  learning  here 
than  in  Europe ;  and,  as  the  term  of  residence  rarely 
exceeds  four  years,  profound  scholars  are  by  no 
means  common.  This  country  possesses  neither  the 
population  nor  the  endowments  to  maintain  a  large 
class  of  learned  idlers,  in  order  that  one  man  in  a 
hundred  may  contribute  a  mite  to  the  growing  stock 
of  general  knowledge.  There  is  a  luxury  in  this  ex 
penditure  of  animal  force,  to  which  the  Americans 
have  not  yet  attained.  The  good  is  far  too  problem 
atical  and  remote,  and  the  expense  of  man  too  cer 
tain,  to  be  prematurely  sought.  I  have  heard,  I  will 
confess,  an  American  legislator  quote  Horace  and 
Cicero ;  but  it  is  far  from  being  the  humour  of  the 
country.  I  thought  the  taste  of  the  orator  question 
able.  A  learned  quotation  is  rarely  of  any  use  in  an 
argument,  since  few  men  are  fools  enough  not  to  see 


434  NUMBER  OF  GRADUATES. 

that  the  application  of  any  maxim  to  politics  is  liable 
to  a  thousand  practical  objections,  and,  nine  times  in 
ten,  they  are  evidences  of  the  want  of  a  direct,  natu 
ral,  and  vigorous  train  of  thought.  They  are  the 
affectations,  but  rarely  the  ebullitions  of  true  talent. 
When  a  man  feels  strongly,  or  thinks  strongly,  OF 
speaks  strongly,  he  is  just  as  apt  to  do  it  in  his  native 
tongue  as  he  is  to  laugh  when  he  is  tickled,  or  to 
weep  when  in  sorrow.  The  Americans  are  strong 
speakers  and  acute  thinkers,  but  no  great  quoters  of 
the  morals  and  axioms  of  a  heathen  ager  because 
they  happen  to  be  recorded  in  Latin. 

The  higher  branches  of  learning  are  certainly  on 
the  advance  in  this  country.  The  gentlemen  of  the 
middle  and  southern  States,  before  the  revolution, 
were  very  generally  educated  in  Europe,  and  they 
were  consequently,  in  this  particular  like  our  own 
people.  Those  who  came  into  life  during  the  strug 
gle,  and  shortly  after,  fared  worse.  Even  the  next 
generation  had  little  to  boast  of  in  the  way  of  instruc 
tion.  I  find  that  boys  entered  the  colleges  so  late  as 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  who  had 
read  a  part  of  the  Greek  Testament,  and  a  few  books 
of  Cicero  and  Virgil,  with  perhaps  a  little  of  Horace. 
But  great  changes  have  been  made,  and  are  still 
making,  in  the  degree  of  previous  qualification. 

Still,  it  would  be  premature  to  say  that  there  is 
any  one  of  the  American  universities  where  classical 
knowledge,  or  even  science,  is  profoundly  attained, 
even  at  the  present  day.  Some  of  the  professors  push 
their  studies,  for  a  life,  certainly;  and  you  well  know, 
after  all,  that  little  short  of  a  life,  and  a  long  one  too, 
will  make  any  man  a  good  general  scholar.  In  1820, 
near  eight  thousand  graduates  of  the  twelve  oldest 
colleges  of  this  country  (according  to  their  catalogues) 
were  then  living.  Of  this  number,  1,406  were  cler 
gymen.  As  some  of  the  catalogues  consulted  were 
several  years  old,  this  number  was  of  necessity  greatly 


PECULIAR    EDUCATION.  435 

within  the  truth.  Between  the  years  1800  and  1810, 
it  is  found  that  of  2,792  graduates,  four  hundred  and 
fifty-three  became  clergymen.  Here  is  pretty  good 
evidence  that  religion  is  not  neglected  in  America, 
and  that  its  ministers  are  not,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
absolutely  ignorant. 

But  the  effects  of  the  literary  institutions  of  the 
United  States  are  somewhat  peculiar.  Few  men 
devote  their  lives  to  scholarship.  The  knowledge 
that  is  actually  acquired,  is  perhaps  quite  sufficient 
for  the  more  practical  and  useful  pursuits.  Thousands 
of  young  men,  who  have  read  the  more  familiar  clas 
sics,  who  have  gone  through  enough  of  mathematics 
to  obtain  a  sense  of  their  own  tastes,  and  of  the  value 
of  precision,  who  have  cultivated  belles  lettres  to  a 
reasonable  extent,  and  who  have  been  moderately 
instructed  in  the  arts  of  composition,  and  in  the  rules 
of  taste,  are  given  forth  to  the  country  to  mingle  in 
its  active  employments.  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  a  class  of  American  graduates  carries  away  with 
it  quite  as  much  general  and  diversified  knowledge, 
as  a  class  from  one  of  our  own  universities.  The 
excellence  in  particular  branches  is  commonly  want 
ing  ;  but  the  deficiency  is  more  than  supplied  by  va 
riety  of  information.  The  youth  who  has  passed  four 
years  within  the  walls  of  a  college,  goes  into  the  office 
of  a  lawyer  for  a  few  more.  The  profession  of  the 
law  is  not  subdivided  in  America.  The  same  man  is 
counsellor,  attorney,  and  conveyancer.  Here  the 
student  gets  a  general  insight  into  the  principles,  and 
a  familiarity  with  the  practice  of  the  law,  rather  than 
an  acquaintance  with  the  study  as  a  science.  With 
this  instruction  he  enters  the  world  as  a  practitioner. 
Instead  of  existing  in  a  state  of  dreaming  retrospec 
tion,  lost  in  a  maze  of  theories,  he  is  at  once  turned 
loose  into  the  jostlings  of  the  world.  If  perchance 
he  encounters  an  antagonist  a  little  more  erudite  than 
himself,  he  seizes  the  natural  truth  for  his  sheet-an- 


436  EFFECTS    OF    EDUCATION. 

chor,  and  leaves  precedent  and  quaint  follies  to  him 
who  has  made  them  his  study  and  delight.  No  doubt 
he  often  blunders,  and  is  frequently,  of  necessity,  de 
feated.  But  in  the  course  of  this  irreverent  treatment, 
usages  and  opinions,  which  are  bottomed  in  no  better 
foundation  than  antiquity,  and  which  are  as  inappli* 
cable  to  the  present  state  of  the  world,  as  the  present 
state  of  the  world  is,  or  ought  to  be,  unfavourable  to 
all  feudal  absurdities,  come  to  receive  their  death- 
warrants.  In  the  mean  time,  by  dint  of  sheer  expe 
rience,  and  by  the  collision  of  intellects,  the  prac 
titioner  gets  a  stock  of  learning,  that  is  acquired  in 
the  best  possible  school ;  and,  what  is  of  far  more 
importance,  the  laws  themselves  get  a  dress  which 
brings  them  within  the  fashions  of  the  day.  This 
same  man  becomes  a  legislator  perhaps,  and,  if  parti 
cularly  clever,  he  is  made  to  take  an  active  part  in 
the  framing  of  laws  that  are  not  to  harmonize  with 
the  other  parts  of  an  elaborate  theory,  but  which  are 
intended  to  make  men  comfortable  and  happy.  Now, 
taken  with  more  or  less  qualification,  this  is  the  his 
tory  of  thousands  in  this  country,  and  it  is  also  an  im 
portant  part  of  the  history  of  the  country  itself. 

In  considering  the  course  of  instruction  in  the 
United  States,  you  are  always  to  commence  at  the 
foundation.  The  common  schools,  which  so  generally 
exist,  have  certainly  elevated  the  population  above 
that  of  any  other  country,  and  are  still  elevating  it 
higher,  as  they  improve  and  increase  in  numbers. 
Law  is  getting  every  day  to  be  more  of  a  science,  but 
it  is  a  science  that  is  forming  rules  better  adapted  to 
the  spirit  of  the  age.  Medicine  is  improving,  and  in 
the  cities  it  is,  perhaps  now,  in  point  of  practice, 
quite  on  a  level  with  that  of  Europe.  Indeed,  the 
well-educated  American  physician  very  commonly 
enjoys  an  advantage  that  is  little  known  in  Europe. 
After  obtaining  a  degree  in  his  own  country,  he  passes 
a  few  years  in  London,  Edinburgh,  Paris,  and  fre- 


LEARNED    PROFESSIONS.  437 

quently  in  Germany,  and  returns  with  his  gleanings 
from  their  several  schools.  This  is  not  the  case  with 
one  individual,  but  with  many,  annually.  Indeed, 
there  is  so  much  of  a  fashion  in  it,  and  the  custom  is 
attended  by  so  many  positive  advantages,  that  its 
neglect  would  be  a  serious  obstacle  to  any  very  emi 
nent  success.  Good  operators  are  by  no  means 
scarce,  and  as  surgery  and  medicine  are  united  in  the 
same  person,  there  is  great  judgment  in  their  prac 
tice.  Human  life  is  something  more  valuable  in 
America  than  in  Europe,  and  I  think  a  critical  atten 
tion  to  patients  more  common  here  than  with  us, 
especially  when  the  sufferer  belongs  to  an  inferior 
condition  in  life.  The  profession  is  highly  respecta 
ble  ;  and  in  all  parts  of  the  country  the  better  sort  of 
its  practitioners  mingle,  on  terms  of  perfect  equality, 
with  the  highest  classes  of  society.  There  are  several 
physicians  in  Congress,  and  a  great  many  in  the  differ 
ent  State  legislatures. 

Of  the  ministry  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak.  The 
clergy  are  of  all  denominations,  and  they  are  edu 
cated,  or  not,  precisely  as  they  belong  to  sects  which 
consider  the  gift  of  human  knowledge  of  any  impor 
tance.  You  have  already  seen  how  large  a  propor 
tion  of  the  graduates  of  some  of  the  colleges  enter 
the  desk. 

As  respects  authorship,  there  is  not  much  to  be 
said.  Compared  to  the  books  that  are  printed  and 
read,  those  of  native  origin  are  few  indeed.  The  prin 
cipal  reason  of  this  poverty  of  original  writers,  is 
owing  to  the  circumstance  that  men  are  not  yet 
driven  to  their  wits  for  bread.  The  United  States  are 
the  first  nation  that  possessed  institutions,  and,  of 
course,  distinctive  opinions  of  its  own,  that  was  ever 
dependent  on  a  foreign  people  for  its  literature. 
Speaking  the  same  language  as  the  English,  and  long 
in  the  habit  of  importing  their  books  from  the  mother 
country,  the  revolution  effected  no  immediate  change 
Pp2 


438  LITERATURE. 

in  the  nature  of  their  studies,  or  mental  amusements. 
The  works  were  re-printed,  it  is  true,  for  the  purposes 
of  economy,  but  they  stil.  continued  English.  Had 
the  latter  nation  used  this  powerful  engine  with  toler 
able  address,  I  think  they  would  have  secured  such 
an  ally  in  this  country  as  would  have  rendered  their 
own  decline  not  only  more  secure,  but  as  illustrious 
as  had  been  their  rise.  There  are  many  theories  en 
tertained  as  to  the  effect  produced  in  this  country  by 
the  falsehoods  and  jealous  calumnies  which  have  been 
undeniably  uttered  in  the  mother  country,  by  means 
of  the  press,  concerning  her  republican  descendant. 
It  is  my  own  opinion  that,  like  all  other  ridiculous 
absurdities,  they  have  defeated  themselves,  and  that 
they  are  now  more  laughed  at  and  derided,  even 
here,  than  resented.  By  all  that  I  can  learn,  twenty 
years  ago,  the  Americans  were,  perhaps,  far  too  much 
disposed  to  receive  the  opinions  and  to  adopt  the 
prejudices  of  their  relatives ;  whereas,  I  think  it  is 
very  apparent  that  they  are  now  beginning  to  receive 
them  with  singular  distrust.  It  is  not  worth  our  while 
to  enter  further  into  this  subject,  except  as  it  has 
had,  or  is  likely  to  have,  an  influence  on  the  national 
literature.* 

It  is  quite  obvious,  that,  so  far  as  taste  and  forms 
alone  are  concerned,  the  literature  of  England  and 
that  of  America  must  be  fashioned  after  the  same 
models.  The  authors,  previously  to  the  revolution, 
are  common  property,  and  it  is  quite  idle  to  say  that 
the  American  has  not  just  as  good  a  right  to  claim 
Milton,  and  Shakspeare,  and  all  the  old  masters  of  the 
language,  for  his  countrymen,  as  an  Englishman.  The 

*  The  writer  might  give,  in  proof  of  this  opinion,  one  fact. 
He  is  led  to  believe  that,  so  lately  as  within  ten  years,  several 
English  periodical  works  were  re-printed,  and  much  read  in 
the'United  States,  and  that  now  they  patronize  their  own,  while 
the  former  are  far  less  sought,  though  the  demand,  by  means 
of  the  increased  population",  should  have  been  nearly  doubled. 
Some  of  the  works  are  no  longer  even  re-printed. 


THE    NEWSI  APERS.  439 

Americans  having  continued  to  cultivate,  and  to  cul 
tivate  extensively,  an  acquaintance  with  the  writers 
of  the  mother  country,  since  the  separation,  it  is 
evident  they  must  have  kept  pace  with  the  trifling 
changes  of  the  day.  The  only  peculiarity  that  can,  or 
ought  to  be  expected  in  their  literature,  is  that  which 
is  connected  with  the  promulgation  of  their  distinc 
tive  political  opinions.  They  have  not  been  remiss 
in  this  duty,  as  any  one  may  see,  who  chooses  to  ex 
amine  their  books.  But  we  will  devote  a  few  minutes 
to  a  more  minute  account  of  the  actual  condition 
of  American  literature. 

The  first,  and  the  most  important,  though  cer 
tainly  the  most  familiar  branch  of  this  subject,  is 
connected  with  the  public  journals.  It  is  not  easy 
to  say  how  many  newspapers  are  printed  in  the 
United  States.  The  estimated  number  varies  from  six 
hundred  to  a  thousand.  In  the  State  of  New-York 
there  are  more  than  fifty  counties.  Now,  it  is  rare 
that  a  county,  in  a  State  as  old  as  that  of  New- York, 
(especially  in  the  more  northern  parts  of  the  coun 
try),  does  not  possess  one  paper  at  least.  The  cities 
have  many.  The  smaller  towns  sometimes  have  three 
or  four,  and  very  many  of  the  counties  four  or  five. 
There  cannot  be  many  less  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  journals  in  the  State  of  New-York  alone.  Penn 
sylvania  is  said  to  possess  eighty.  But  we  will  sup 
pose  that  these  two  States  publish  two  hundred  jour 
nals.  They  contain  about  3,000,000  of  inhabitants. 
As  the  former  is  an  enlightened  State,  and  the  latter 
rather  below  the  scale  of  the  general  intelligence  of 
the  nation,  it  may  not  be  a  very  bad  average  of  the 
whole  population.  This  rate  would  give  eight  hun 
dred  journals  for  the  United  States,  which  is  probably 
something  within  the  truth.  I  confess,  however,  this 
manner  of  equalizing  estimates  in  America,  is  very 
uncertain  in  general,  since  a  great  deal,  in  such  a 


440  THE    NEWSPAPERS. 

question,  must  depend  on  the  progress  of  society  in 
each  particular  section  of  the  country. 

As  might  be  expected,  there  is  nearly  every  de 
gree  of  merit  to  be  found  in  these  journals.  No  one 
of  them  has  the  benefit  of  that  collected  talent  which 
is  so  often  enlisted  in  the  support  of  the  more  im 
portant  journals  of  Europe.  There  is  not  often  more 
than  one  editor  to  the  best;  but  he  is  usually  some 
man  who  has  seen,  in  his  own  person,  enough  of  men 
and  things  to  enable  him  to  speak  with  tolerable  dis 
cretion  on  passing  events.  The  usefulness  of  the 
American  journals,  however,  does  not  consist  in  their 
giving  the  tone  to  the  public  mind,  in  politics  and 
morals,  but  in  imparting  facts.  It  is  certain  that, 
could  the  journals  agree,  they  might,  by  their  united 
efforts,  give  a  powerful  inclination  to  the  common 
will.  But,  in  point  of  fact,  they  do  not  agree  on  any 
one  subject,  or  set  of  subjects,  except,  perhaps,  on 
those  which  directly  affect  their  own  interests.  They, 
consequently,  counteract,  instead  of  aiding  each  other, 
on  all  points  of  disputed  policy ;  and  it  is  in  the  bold 
and  sturdy  discussions  that  follow,  that  men  arrive 
at  the  truth.  The  occasional  union  in  their  own  fa 
vour,  is  a  thing  too  easily  seen  through  to  do  either 
good  or  harm.  So  far,  then,  from  the  journals  suc 
ceeding  in  leading  the  public  opinion  astray,  they  are 
in  variably  obliged  to  submit  to  it.  They  serve  to 
keep  it  alive,  by  furnishing  the  means  for  its  expres 
sion,  but  they  rarely  do  more.  Of  course,  the  influ 
ence  of  each  particular  press  is  in  proportion  to  the 
constancy  and  the  ability  with  which  it  is  found  to 
support  what  is  thought  to  be  sound  principles ;  but 
those  principles  must  be  in  accordance  with  the  pri 
vate  opinions  of  men,  or  most  of  their  labour  is  lost. 

The  public  press  in  America  is  rather  more  decent 
than  that  of  England,  and  less  decorous  than  that  of 
France.  The  tone  of  the  nation,  and  the  respect 


AN   ABUSIVE    FRACT1CE.  44i 

for  private  feelings,  which  are,  perhaps,  in  some 
measure,  the  consequence  of  a  less  artificial  state  of 
society,  produce  the  former;  and  the  liberty,  which 
is  a  necessary  attendant  of  fearless  discussion,  is,  I 
think,  the  cause  of  the  latter.  The  affairs  of  an  in 
dividual  are  rarely  touched  upon  in  the  journals  of 
this  country ;  never,  unless  it  is  thought  they  have  a 
direct  connexion  with  the  public  interests,  or  from  a 
wish  to  do  him  good.  Still  there  is  a  habit,  getting 
into  use  in  America,  no  less  than  in  France,  that  is 
borrowed  from  the  English,  which  proves  that  the 
more  unworthy  feelings  of  our  nature  are  common 
to  men  under  all  systems,  and  only  need  opportunity 
to  find  encouragement.  I  allude  to  the  practice  of 
repeating  the  proceedings  of  the  courts  of  justice,  in 
order  to  cater  to  a  vicious  appetite  for  amusement  in 
the  public. 

It  is  pretended  that,  as  a  court  of  justice  is  open 
to  the  world,  there  can  be  no  harm  in  giving  the 
utmost  publicity  to  its  proceedings.  It  is  strange 
the  courts  should  act  so  rigidly  on  the  principle,  that 
it  is  better  a  dozen  guilty  men  should  go  free,  than 
that  one  innocent  man  should  suffer,  and  yet  permit 
the  gross  injustice  that  is  daily  done  by  means  of  this 
practice.  One  would  think,  that  if  a  court  of  justice 
is  so  open  to  the  world,  that  it  should  be  the  business 
of  the  people  of  the  world  to  enter  it,  in  order  thai 
they  might  be  certain  that  the  information  they  crave 
should  be  without  colouring  or  exaggeration.  It  is 
idle  to  say  that  the  reports  are  accurate,  and  that  he 
who  reads  is  enabled  to  do  justice  to  the  accused,  by 
comparing  the  facts  that  are  laid  before  him.  A 
reporter  may  give  the  expression  of  the  tongue ;  but 
can  he  convey  that  of  the  eye,  of  the  countenance, 
or  of  the  form  ? — without  regarding  all  of  which,  no 
man  is  perfectly  master  of  the  degree  of  credibility 
that  is  due  to  any  witness  of  whose  character  he  is 
necessarily  ignorant.  But  every  man  has  an  infallible 


442        EFFECTS  OF  A  BAD  PRACTICE. 

means  of  assuring  himself  of  the  value  of  these  re 
ports.  Who  has  ever  read  a  dozen  of  them  with 
out  meeting  with  one  (or  perhaps  more,)  in  which 
the  decision  of  the  court  and  jury  is  to  him  a  matter 
of  surprise  ?  It  is  true  he  assumes,  that  those  who 
were  present  knew  best,  and  as  he  has  no  great  in 
terest  in  the  matter,  he  is  commonly  satisfied.  But 
how  is  it  with  the  unfortunate  man  who  is  wrong 
fully  brought  out  of  his  retirement  to  repel  an  unjust 
attack  against  his  person,  his  property,  or  his  charac 
ter  ?  If  he  be  a  man  of  virtue,  he  is  a  man  of  sensi 
bility;  and  not  only  he,  but,  what  is  far  worse,  those 
tender  beings,  whose  existence  is  wrapped  up  in  his 
own,  are  to  be  wounded  daily  and  hourly,  for  weeks 
at  a  time,  in  order  that  a  depraved  appetite  should  be 
glutted.  It  is  enough  for  justice  that  her  proceedings 
should  be  so  public  as  to  prevent  the  danger  of  cor 
ruption ;  but  we  pervert  a  blessing  to  a  curse,  in 
making  that  which  was  intended  for  our  protection, 
the  means  of  so  much  individual  misery.  It  is  an 
unavoidable  evil  of  the  law  that  it  necessarily  works 
some  wrong,  in  order  to  do  much  good ;  but  it  is 
cruel  that  even  the  acquittal  of  a  man  should  be  un 
necessarily  circulated,  in  a  manner  to  make  all  men 
remember  that  he  had  been  accused.  We  have 
proof  of  the  consequences  of  this  practice  in  Eng 
land.  Men  daily  shrink  from  resistance  to  base 
frauds,  rather  than  expose  themselves  to  the.  obser 
vations  and  comments  of  those  who  enliven  their 
breakfasts  by  sporting  with  these  exhibitions  of  their 
fellow-creatures.  There  are,  undoubtedly,  cases  of 
that  magnitude  which  require  some  sacrifice  of  pri 
vate  feelings,  in  order  that  the  community  should 
reap  the  advantage ;  but  the  regular  books  are  suffi 
cient  for  authorities — the  decisions  of  the  courts  are 
sufficient  for  justice — and  the  utmost  possible  oblivion 
should  prove  as  nearly  sufficient  as  may  be  to  serve 
the  ends  of  a  prudent  and  a  righteous  humanity. 


LIBERTY  OF  THE  PRESS.  443 

Nothing  can  be  more  free  than  the  press  of  this 
country,  on  all  subjects  connected  with  politics. 
Treason  cannot  be  written,  unless  by  communicating 
with  an  open  enemy.  There  is  no  other  protection  to 
a  public  man  than  that  which  is  given  by  an  indepen 
dent  jury,  which  punishes,  of  course,  in  proportion 
to  the  dignity  and  importance  of  the  injured  party. 
*But  the  utmost  lenity  is  always  used  in  construing 
the  right  of  the  press  to  canvass  the  public  acts 
of  public  men.  Mere  commonplace  charges  defeat 
themselves,  and  get  into  discredit  so  soon  as  to  be 
lost,  while  graver  accusations  are  met  by  grave  re 
plies.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  complacency  of 
individuals  is  sometimes  disturbed  by  these  liberties; 
but  they  serve  to  keep  the  officers  of  the  government 
to  their  work,  while  they  rarely  do  any  lasting,  or 
even  temporary  injury.  Serious  and  criminal  accu 
sations  against  a  public  man,  if  groundless,  are,  by 
the  law  of  reason,  a  crime  against  the  community, 
and,  as  such,  they  are  punished.  The  general  prin 
ciple  observed  in  these  matters  is  very  simple.  If 
A.  accuse  B.  of  an  act  that  is  an  offence  against  law, 
he  may  be  called  on  for  his  proof,  and  if  he  fail  he 
must  take  the  consequences.  But  an  editor  of  a  pa 
per,  or  any  one  else,  who  should  bring  a  criminal 
charge,  no  matter  how  grave,  against  the  President, 
and  who  could  prove  it,  is  just  as  certain  of  doing  it 
with  impunity,  as  if  he  held  the  whole  power  in  his 
own  hands.  He  would  be  protected  by  the  invinci 
ble  shield  of  public  opinion,  which  is  not  only  in  con 
sonance  with  the  law,  but  which,  in  this  country, 
makes  law. 

Actions  for  injuries  done  by  the  presh,  considering 
the  number  of  journals,  are  astonishingly  rare  in 
America.  When  one  remembers  the  usual  difficulty  of 
obtaining  legal  proof,  which  is  a  constant  temptation, 
even  to  the  guilty,  to  appeal  to  the  courts ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  great  freedom  of  the  press,  which 


444  PERIODICAL  WORKS. 

is  a  constant  temptation  to  abuse  the  trust,  this  fact, 
in  itself,  furnishes  irresistible  evidence  of  the  general 
tone  of  decency  which  predominates  in  this  nation. 
The  truth  is,  that  public  opinion,  among  its  other 
laws,  has  imperiously  prescribed  that,  amidst  the  ut 
most  latitude  of  discussion,  certain  limits  shall  not  be 
passed ;  and  public  opinion,  which  is  so  completely 
the  offspring  of  a  free  press,  must  be  obeyed  in  this,v 
as  well  as  in  other  matters. 

Leaving  the  journals,  we  come  to  those  publica 
tions  which  make  their  appearance  periodically.  Of 
these  there  are  a  good  many,  some  few  of  which  are 
well  supported.  There  are  several  scientific  works, 
that  are  printed  monthly,  or  quarterly,  of  respectable 
merit,  and  four  or  five  reviews.  Magazines  of  a  more 
general  character  are  not  much  encouraged.  Eng 
land,  which  is  teeming  with  educated  men,  who  are 
glad  to  make  their  bread  by  writing  for  these  works, 
still  affords  too  strong  a  competition  for  the  success 
of  any  American  attempts,  in  this  species  of  litera 
ture.  Though  few,  perhaps  no  English  magazine  is 
actually  republished  in  America,  a  vast  number  are 
imported  and  read  in  the  towns,  where  the  support 
for  any  similar  original  production  must  first  be  found., 

The  literature  of  the  United  States  has,  indeed,  too 
powerful  obstacles  to  conquer  before  (to  use  a  mer 
cantile  expression)  it  can  ever  enter  the  markets  of 
its  own  country  on  terms  of  perfect  equality  with 
that  of  England.  Solitary  and  individual  works  of 
genius  may,  indeed,  be  occasionally  brought  to  light, 
under  the  impulses  of  the  high  feeling  which  has  con 
ceived  them  ;  but,  I  fear,  a  good,  wholesome,  profit 
able  and  continued  pecuniary  supports  the  applause 
that  talent  most  craves.  The  fact,  that  an  American 
publisher  can  get  an  English  work  without  money, 
must,  for  a  few  years-  longer,  (unless  legislative  pro 
tection  shall  be  extended  to  their  own  authors,)  have 
a  tendency  to  repress  a  national  literature.  No  man 


THE  TASTE  OF  THE  PUBLIC.        445 

will  pay  a  writer  for  an  epic,  a  tragedy,  a  sonnet,  a 
history,  or  a  romance,  when  he  can  get  a  work  of 
equal  merit  for  nothing.  I  have  conversed  with 
those  who  are  conversant  on  the  subject,  and,  I  con 
fess,  I  have  been  astonished  at  the  information  they 
imparted. 

A  capital  American  publisher  has  assured  me  that 
there  are  not  a  dozen  writers  in  this  country,  whose 
works  he  should  feel  confidence  in  publishing  at  all, 
while  he  reprints  hundreds  of  English  books  without 
the  least  hesitation.  This  preference  is  by  no  means 
so  much  owing  to  any  difference  in  merit,  as  to  the 
fact  that,  when  the  price  of  the  original  author  is  to 
be  added  to  the  uniform  hazard  which  accompanies 
all  literary  speculations,  the  risk  becomes  too  great. 
The  general  taste  of  the  reading  world  in  this  coun 
try  is  better  than  that  of  England.*  The  fact  is  both 
proved  and  explained  by  the  circumstance  that  thou 
sands  of  works  that  are  printed  and  read  in  the 
mother  country,  are  not  printed  and  read  here.  The 
publisher  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  has  the  advan 
tage  of  seeing  the  reviews  of  every  book  he  wishes 
to  print,  and,  what  is  of  far  more  importance,  he 
knows,  with  the  exception  of  books  that  he  is  sure 
of  selling,  by  means  of  a  name,  the  decision  of  the 
English  critics  before  he  makes  his  choice.  Nine 
times  in  ten,  popularity,  which  is  all  he  looks  for,  is 
a  sufficient  test  of  general  merit.  Thus,  while  you 
find  every  English  work  of  character,  or  notoriety, 
on  the  shelves  of  an  American  book-store,  you  may 
ask  in  vain  for  most  of  the  trash  that  is  so  greedily 
devoured  in  the  circulating  libraries  of  the  mother 
country,  and  which  would  be  just  as  eagerly  devour 
ed  here,  had  not  a  better  taste  been  created  by  a 

*  The  writer  does  not  mean  that  the  best  taste  of  America  ia 
better  than  that  of  England ;  perhaps  it  is  not  quite  so  good ; 
but,  as  a  whole,  the  American  reading  world  requires  bettei 
books  than  the  whole  of  the  English  reading  world. 
Qq 


446  POVERTY  OF  LITERARY  MATERIALS. 

compelled  abstinence.  That  taste  must  now  be  over 
come  before  such  works  could  be  sold  at  all. 

When  I  say  that  books  are  not  rejected  here,  from 
any  want  of  talent  in  the  writers,  perhaps  I  ought 
to  explain.  I  wish  to  express  something  a  little  dif 
ferent.  Talent  is  sure  of  too  many  avenues  to  wealth 
and  honours,  in  America,  to  seek,  unnecessarily,  an 
unknown  and  hazardous  path.  It  is  better  paid  in 
the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life,  than  it  would  be  likely 
to  be  paid  by  an  adventure  in  which  an  extraordinary 
and  skilful,  because  practised,  foreign  competition  is 
certain.  Perhaps  high  talent  does  not  often  make  the 
trial  with  the  American  bookseller ;  but  it  is  precisely 
for  the  reason  I  have  named. 

The  second  obstacle  against  which  American  lite 
rature  has  to  contend,  is  in  the  poverty  of  materials. 
There  is  scarcely  an  ore  which  contributes  to  the 
wealth  of  the  author,  that  is  found,  here,  in  veins 
as  rich  as  in  Europe.  There  are  no  annals  for  the 
historian;  no  follies  (beyond  the  most  vulgar  and 
commonplace)  for  the  satirist;  no  manners  for  the 
dramatist ;  no  obscure  fictions  for  the  writer  of  ro 
mance  ;  no  gross  and  hardy  offences  against  decorum 
for  the  moralist ;  nor  any  of  the  rich  artificial  auxilia 
ries  of  poetry.  The  weakest  hand  can  extract  a 
spark  from  the  flint,  but  it  would  baffle  the  strength 
of  a  giant  to  attempt  kindling  a  flame  with  a  pudding- 
stone.  I  very  well  know  there  are  theorists  who  as 
sume  that  the  society  and  institutions  of  this  country 
are,  or  ought  to  be,  particularly  favourable  to  novel 
ties  and  variety.  But  the  experience  of  one  month, 
in  these  States,  is  sufficient  to  show  any  observant 
man  the  falsity  of  their  position.  The  effect  of  a 
promiscuous  assemblage  any  where,  is  to  create  a 
standard  of  deportment;  and  great  liberty  permits 
every  one  to  aim  at  its  attainment.  I  have  never 
seen  a  nation  so  much  alike  in  my  life,  as  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  what  is  more,  they  are  not 


AMERICAN  POETS.  447 

only  like  each  other,  but  they  are  remarkably  like 
that  which  common  sense  tells  them  they  ought  to 
resemble.  No  doubt,  traits  of  character  that  are  a 
little  peculiar,  without,  however,  being  either  very 
poetical,  or  very  rich,  are  to  be  found  in  remote  dis 
tricts  ;  but  they  are  rare,  and  not  always  happy  ex 
ceptions.  In  short,  it  is  not  possible  to  conceive  a 
state  of  society  in  which  more  of  the  attributes  of 
plain  good  sense,  or  fewer  of  the  artificial  absurdities 
of  life,  are  to  be  found,  than  here.  There  is  no  cos 
tume  for  the  peasant,  (there  is  scarcely  a  peasant  at 
all,)  no  wig  for  the  judge,  no  baton  for  the  general, 
no  diadem  for  the  chief  magistrate.  The  darkest 
ages  of  their  history  are  illuminated  by  the  light  of 
truth  ;  the  utmost  efforts  of  their  chivalry  are  limited 
by  the  laws  of  God ;  and  even  the  deeds  of  their 
sages  and  heroes  are  to  be  sung  in  a  language  that 
would  differ  but  little  from  a  version  of  the  ten  com 
mandments.  However  useful  and  respectable  all 
this  may  be  in  actual  life,  it  indicates  but  one  direc 
tion  to  the  man  of  genius. 

It  is  very  true  there  are  a  few  young  poets  now 
living  in  this  country,  who  have  known  how  to  ex 
tract  sweets  from  even  these  wholesome,  but  scent 
less  native  plants.  They  have,  however,  been  com 
pelled  to  seek  their  inspiration  in  the  universal  laws 
of  nature,  and  they  have  succeeded,  precisely  in  pro 
portion  as  they  have  been  most  general  in  their  ap 
plication.  Among  these  gifted  young  men,  there  is 
one  (Halleck)  who  is  remarkable  for  an  exquisite 
vein  of  ironical  wit,  mingled  with  a  fine,  poetical, 
and,  frequently,  a  lofty  expression.  This  gentleman 
commenced  his  career  as  a  satirist  in  one  of  the  jour 
nals  of  New- York.  Heaven  knows,  his  materials 
were  none  of  the  richest ;  and  yet  the  melody  of  his 
verse,  the  quaintness  and  force  of  his  comparisons, 
and  the  exceeding  humour  of  his  strong  points, 
brought  him  instantly  into  notice.  He  then  attempt- 


448  AMERICAN    POETS. 

ed  a  general  satire,  by  giving  the  history  of  the  early 
days  of  a  belle.  He  was  again  successful,  though 
every  body,  at  least  every  body  of  any  talent,  felt 
that  he  wrote  in  leading-strings.  But  he  happened, 
shortly  after  the  appearance  of  the  little  volume  just 
named,  (Fanny,)  to  visit  England.  Here  his  spirit 
was  properly  excited,  and,  probably  on  a  rainy  day, 
he  was  induced  to  try  his  hand  at  a  jeu  tfesprit,  in 
the  mother  country.  The  result  was  one  of  the 
finest  semi-heroic  ironical  descriptions  to  be  found 
in  the  English  language.*  This  simple  fact,  in  itself, 
proves  the  truth  of  a  great  deal  of  what  I  have  just 
been  writing,  since  it  shows  the  effect  a  superiority 
of  material  can  produce  on  the  efforts  of  a  man  of 
true  genius. 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  of  the  subject, 
talent  has  even  done  more  than  in  the  instance  of 
Mr.  Halleck.  1  could  mention  several  other  young 
poets  of  this  country  of  rare  merit.  By  mentioning 
Bryant,  Percival,  and  Sprague,  I  shall  direct  your 
attention  to  the  names  of  those  whose  works  would 
be  most  likely  to  give  you  pleasure.  Unfortunately 
they  are  not  yet  known  in  Italian,  but  I  think  even 
you  would  not  turn  in  distaste  from  the  task  of  trans 
lation  which  the  best  of  their  effusions  will  invite. 

The  next,  though  certainly  an  inferior  branch  of 
imaginative  writing,  is  fictitious  composition.  From 
the  facts  just  named,  you  cannot  expect  that  the 
novelists,  or  romance  writers  of  the  United  States, 
should  be  very  successful.  The  same  reason  will  be 
likely,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  to  repress  the  ardour 
of  dramatic  genius.  Still,  tales  and  plays  are  no  nov 
elties  in  the  literature  of  this  country.  Of  the  for 
mer,  there  are  many  as  old  as  soon  after  the  revolu 
tion  ,  and  a  vast  number  have  been  published  within 
the  last  five  years.  One  of  their  authors  of  romance, 

*  This  little  morceau  of  pleasant  irony  is  called  Alnwick 
Castle. 


AMERICAN    PROSE    WRITERS.  449 

who  curbed  his  talents  hy  as  few  allusions  as  possible 
to  actual  society,  is  distinguished  for  power  and  com 
prehensiveness  of  thought.  I  remember  to  have  read 
one  of  his  books  (Wieland)  when  a  boy,  and  I  take 
it  to  be  a  never-failing  evidence  of  genius,  that,  amid 
a  thousand  similar  pictures  which  have  succeeded, 
the  images  it  has  left,  still  stand  distinct  and  promi 
nent  in  my  recollection.  This  author  (Mr.  Brockden 
Brown)  enjoys  a  high  reputation  among  his  country 
men,  whose  opinions  are  sufficiently  impartial,  since 
he  flattered  no  particular  prejudice  of  the  nation  in 
any  of  his  works. 

The  reputation  of  Irving  is  well  known  to  you. 
He  is  an  author  distinguished  for  a  quality  (humour) 
that  has  been  denied  his  countrymen ;  and  his  merit 
is  the  more  rare,  that  it  has  been  shown  in  a  state  of 
society  so  cold  and  so  restrained.  Besides  these 
writers,  there  are  many  others  of  a  similar  character, 
who  enjoy  a  greater  6r  less  degree  of  favour  in  their 
own  country.  The  works  of  two  or  three  have  even 
been  translated  (into  French)  in  Europe,  and  a  great 
many  are  reprinted  in  England.  Though  every  writer 
of  fiction  in  America  has  to  contend  against  the  diffi 
culties  1  have  named,  there  is  a  certain  interest  in  the 
novelty  of  the  subject,  which  is  not  without  its  charm. 
I  think,  however,  it  will  be  found  that  they  have  all 
been  successful,  or  the  reverse,  just  as  they  have 
drawn  warily,  or  freely,  on  the  distinctive  habits  of 
their  own  country.  I  now  speak  of  their  success 
purely  as  writers  of  romance.  It  certainly  would  be 
possible  for  an  American  to  give  a  description  of  the 
manners  of  his  own  country,  in  a  book  that  he  might 
choose  to  call  a  romance,  which  should  be  read,  be 
cause  the  world  is  curious  on  the  subject,  but  which 
would  certainly  never  be  read  for  that  nearly  inde 
finable  poetical  interest  which  attaches  itself  to  a 
description  of  manners  less  bald  and  uniform.  All  the 
attempts  to  blend  history  with  romance  in  America, 
Qq2 


4t>0      DIFFICULTIES    OF    FICTITIOUS    WRITINGS. 

have  been  comparatively  failures,  (and  perhaps  for 
tunately,)  since  the  subjects  are  too  familiar  to  be 
treated  with  the  freedom  that  the  imagination  abso 
lutely  requires.  Some  of  the  descriptions  of  the 
progress  of  society  on  the  borders,  have  had  a  rather 
better  success,  since  there  is  a  positive,  though  no 
very  poetical,  novelty  in  the  subject;  but,  on  the 
whole,  the  books  which  have  been  best  received,  are 
those  in  which  the  authors  have  trusted  most  to  their 
own  conceptions  of  character,  and  to  qualities  thai 
are  common  to  the  rest  of  the  world  and  to  human 
nature.  This  fact,  if  its  truth  be  admitted,  will  serve 
to  pro\e  that  the  American  writer  must  seek  his  re 
nown  in  the  exhibition  of  qualities  that  are  general, 
while  he  is  confessedly  compelled  to  limit  his  obser 
vations  to  a  state  of  society  that  has  a  wonderful  ten 
dency  not  only  to  repress  passion,  but  to  equalize 
humours. 

The  Americans  have  always  been  prolific  writers 
on  polemics  and  politics.  Their  sermons  and  fourth 
of  July  orations  are  numberless.  Their  historians, 
without  being  very  classical  or  very  profound,  are 
remarkable  for  truth  and  good  sense.  There  is  not, 
perhaps,  in  the  language  a  closer  reasoner  in  meta 
physics  than  Edwards  ;  and  their  theological  writers 
find  great  favour  among  the  sectarians  of  their  re 
spective  schools. 

The  stage  of  the  United  States  is  decidedly  Eng 
lish.  Both  plays  and  players,  with  few  exceptions, 
are  imported.  Theatres  are  numerous,  and  they  are 
to  be  found  in  places  where  a  traveller  would  little 
expect  to  meet  them.  Of  course  they  are  of  all 
sizes,  and  of  every  degree  of  decoration  and  archi 
tectural  beauty  known  in  Europe,  below  the  very 
highest.  The  fa9ade  of  the  principal  theatre  in  Phila 
delphia,  is  a  chaste  specimen  in  marble,  of  the  Ionic, 
if  my  memory  is  correct.  In  New- York,  there  are 
two  theatres  about  as  large  as  the  Theatre  Franqais 


THE    AMERICAN    STAGE.  451 

(in  the  interior),  and  not  much  inferior  in  embellish 
ments.  Besides  these,  there  is  a  very  pretty  little 
theatre,  where  lighter  pieces  are  performed,  and  an 
other  with  a  vast  stage  for  melo-dramas.  There  are 
also  one  or  two  other  places  of  dramatic  representa 
tion  in  this  city,  in  which  hordes  and  men  contend  for 
the  bays. 

The  Americans  pay  well  for  dramatic  talent. 
Cooke,  the  greatest  English  tragedian  of  our  age, 
died  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic ;  and  there  are  few 
players  of  eminence  in  the  mother  country  who  are 
not  tempted,  at  some  time  or  other,  to  cross  the 
ocean.  Shakspeare  is,  of  course,  the  great  authoi 
of  America,  as  he  is  of  England,  and  1  think  he  is 
quite  as  well  relished  here  as  there.  In  point  of  taste, 
if  all  the  rest  of  the  world  be  any  thing  against  Eng 
land,  that  of  America  is  the  best,  since  it  unquestion 
ably  approaches  nearest  to  that  of  the  continent  of 
Europe.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  theatrical  taste  of 
the  English  is  condemned  by  their  own  judgments, 
since  the  stage  is  not  much  supported  by  those  who 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  any  other.  You 
will  be  apt  to  ask  me  how  it  happens,  then,  that  the 
American  taste  is  better?  Because  the  people,  being 
less  exaggerated  in  their  habits,  are  less  disposed  to 
tolerate  caricatures,  and  because  the  theatres  are  not 
yet  sufficiently  numerous  (though  that  hour  is  near) 
to  admit  of  a  representation  that  shall  not  be  subject 
to  the  control  of  a  certain  degree  of  intelligence.  I 
have  heard  an  English  player  complain  that  he  never 
saw  such  a  dull  audience  as  the  one  before  which  he 
had  just  been  exhibiting;  and  I  heard  the  same  audi 
ence  complain  that  they  never  listened  to  such  dull 
jokes.  Now,  there  was  talent  enough  in  both  parties  ; 
but  the  one  had  formed  his  taste  in  a  coarse  school, 
and  the  others  had  formed  theirs  under  the  dominion 
of  common  sense.  Independently  of  this  peculiarity, 
there  is  a  vast  deal  of  acquired,  travelled  taste  in 


452  DRAMATIC    WRITERb. 

this  country.  English  tragedy,  and  high  English 
comedy,  both  of  which,  you  know,  are  excellent, 
never  fail  here,  if  well  played ;  that  is,  they  never 
fail  under  the  usual  limits  of  all  amusement.  One 
will  cloy  of  sweets.  But  the  fact  of  the  taste  and 
judgment  of  these  people,  in  theatrical  exhibitions, 
is  proved  by  the  number  of  their  good  theatres,  com 
pared  to  their  population. 

Of  dramatic  writers  there  are  none,  or  next  to 
none.  The  remarks  I  have  made  in  respect  to  novels 
apply  with  double  force  to  this  species  of  composi 
tion,  A  witty  and  successful  American  comedy  could 
only  proceed  from  extraordinary  talent.  There  would 
be  less  difficulty,  certainly,  with  a  tragedy;  but  still, 
there  is  rather  too  much  foreign  competition,  and  too 
much  domestic  employment  in  other  pursuits,  to  invite 
genius  to  so  doubtful  an  enterprise.  The  very  bald 
ness  of  ordinary  American  life  is  in  deadly  hostility 
to  scenic  representation.  The  character  must  be 
supported  solely  by  its  intrinsic  power.  The  judge, 
the  footman,  the  clown,  the  lawyer,  the  belle,  or  the 
beau,  can  receive  no  great  assistance  from  dress. 
Melo-dramas,  except  the  scene  should  be  laid  in  the 
woods,  are  out  of  the  question.  It  would  be  neces 
sary  to  seek  the  great  clock,  which  is  to  strike  the 
portentous  twelve  blows,  in  the  nearest  church;  a 
vaulted  passage  would  degenerate  into  a  cellar ;  and, 
as  for  ghosts,  the  country  was  discovered,  since  their 
visitations  have  ceased.  The  smallest  departure 
from  the  incidents  of  ordinary  life  would  do  violence 
to  every  man's  experience;  and,  as  already  mention 
ed,  the  passions  which  belong  to  human  nature  must 
be  delineated,  in  America,  subject  to  the  influence 
of  that  despot — common  sense. 

Notwithstanding  the  overwhelming  influence  of 
British  publications,  and  all  the  difficulties  I  have 
named,  original  books  are  getting  to  be  numerous  in 
the  United  States.  The  impulses  of  talent  and  intel- 


EXCELLENCE  OF  USEFUL  IMPLEMENTS.    453 

ligence  are  bearing  down  a  thousand  obstacles.  I 
think  the  new  works  will  increase  rapidly,  and  that 
they  are  destined  to  produce  a  powerful  influence  on 
the  world.  We  will  pursue  this  subject  another 
time. — Adieu. 


TO  THE  ABBATE  GIROMACHT, 


FLORENCE. 


Washington,        - 

— You  will  be  satisfied  with  these  reasons  for  the 
abrupt  conclusion  of  my  last.  I  shall  now  tax  your 
patience  for  a  short  continuation  of  the  subject. 

Although  there  are  so  many  reasons  why  an  ima 
ginative  literature  should  not  be  speedily  created  in 
this  country,  there  is  none,  but  that  general  activity 
of  employment  which  is  not  favourable  to  study, 
why  science  and  all  the  useful  arts  should  not  be 
cultivated  here,  perhaps,  more  than  any  where  else. 
Great  attention  is  already  paid  to  the  latter.  Though 
there  is  scarce  such  a  thing  as  a  capital  picture  in 
this  whole  country,  I  have  seen  more  beautiful,  grace 
ful,  and  convenient  ploughs  in  positive  use  here,  than 
are  probably  to  be  found  in  the  whole  of  Europe 
united.  In  this  single  fact  may  be  traced  the  history 
of  the  character  of  the  people,  and  the  germ  of  their 
future  greatness.  Their  axe  is  admirable  for  form, 
for  neatness,  and  precision  of  weight,  and  it  is  wield 
ed  with  a  skill  that  is  next  to  incredible.  Reapers 
are  nearly  unknown;  but  I  have  seen  single  indi 
viduals  enter  a  field  of  grain  in  the  morning,  and 


454  PATENT    OFFICE. 

clear  acres  of  its  golden  burthen,  by  means  of  the 
cradle*  with  a  rapidity  that  has  amazed  me.  The 
vast  multitude  of  their  inventions,  as  they  are  exhibit 
ed  in  the  Patent  Office  in  this  city,  ought  to  furnish 
food  for  grave  reflection  to  every  stranger.  Several 
large  rooms  are  filled  with  the  models,  many  of  which 
give  evidence  of  the  most  acute  ingenuity.  When 
one  recollects  the  average  proportion  of  adults  to 
which  the  population  must  have  been  confined  during 
the  last  thirty-five  years,!  the  number  of  their  inven 
tions  is  marvellous.  A  great  many  of  these  models 
contain  no  new  principle,  nor  any  new  application 
of  an  old  principle;  but,  as  in  such  cases  money  has 
been  paid  by  those  who  deposit  them  there  without  an 
object,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  they  were  inventions 
so  far  as  the  claimants  were  concerned.  There  are 
so  few  means  by  which  men,  in  remote  districts  of 
this  country,  can  profit  by  the  ideas  of  other  people 
in  these  matters,  that  it  is  probable  there  are  not  a 
dozen  machines  lodged  in  the  office,  of  which  the 
parties  concerned  did  not  honestly  believe  them 
selves  the  inventors.  You  may  estimate  the  activity 
of  thought,  which  distinguishes  the  mass  of  this  na 
tion  from  all  other  people,  by  this  fact.  It  is  in  itself 
a  prodigious  triumph  to  a  young  people  to  have  given 
form  and  useful  existence  to  the  greatest  improve 
ment  of  our  age ;  but  the  steam-boats  are  not  the  only 
gift  of  this  nature,  by  many,  that  Europe  has  already 
received  from  the  western  hemisphere. 

The  general  accumulation  of  science  in  this  coun 
try  is  exceedingly  great,  though  it  is  quite  likely  that 
few  men  have  yet  attained  to  a  very  eminent  degree 
of  knowledge  in  any  one  particular  branch.  Still  it 
is  probable,  that  the  amount  of  science  in  the  United 

*  The  writer  does  not  know  whether  this  implement  is  an 
American  invention  or  not. 

f  The  whole  period  that  the  Patent  Office  has  been  in  ex 
istence. 


ARCHITECTURE.  455 

States,  at  this  day,  compared  to  what  it  was  even 
fifteen  years  ago,  and  without  reference  to  the  in 
crease  of  the  population,  is  as  five  to  one,  or  even  in 
a  still  much  greater  proportion.  Like  all  other  learn 
ing,  it  is  greatly  on  the  advance. 

In  architecture  the  Americans  have  certainly  no 
great  reason  to  exult.  They  appear  to  have  inherited 
the  peculiarity  of  their  ancestors,  in  all  matters  of 
mere  taste.  Their  houses  are  mostly  built  of  wood 
in  the  country  and  in  the  villages,  and  of  bricks  in 
the  towns.  There  are,  however,  exceptions,  in  all 
cases,  which  reverse  the  rule.  There  are  many 
farm-houses,  seats,  churches,  court-houses,  &c.  in  the 
country  and  smaller  towns,  which  are  of  stone. 
Marble  and  granite  are  getting  a  good  deal  into  use, 
too,  in  the  more  northern  cities.  The  principal 
motive  which  controls  their  taste  is  economy.  It  is 
commonly  cheapest  to  build  of  wood  in  the  country, 
but  where  stone  is  at  hand,  and  of  a  good  quality,  it 
begins  to  be  preferred,  in  what  may  be  called  the 
second  and  third  stages  of  the  settlements.  As  the 
materials  are  cheap,  the  buildings  are  in  common 
much  larger  than  would  be  occupied  by  men  of  the 
same  wealth  in  Europe.  A  house  of  forty  or  of  forty- 
five  feet  front,  and  of  thirty  or  thirty-five  feet  in 
depth,  of  two  stories,  with  cellars,  and  garret,  and 
with  offices  attached,  is  a  usual  dwelling  for  the  owner 
of  one  or  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  in  a  part  of 
the  country  that  has  been  under  cultivation  thirty  or 
forty  years.  Such  a  man  may  be  worth  from  five  to 
ten  thousand  dollars.  He  has  his  growing  orchard  ; 
fifty  sheep  ;  some  eight  or  ten  cows ;  a  stock  of 
young  cattle  ;  three  or  four  horses  ;  one  or  two  yoke 
of  oxen ;  hogs,  poultry,  and  all  the  other  provisions 
of  a  small  farm.  He  grows  his  own  maize ;  fattens 
his  own  pork ;  makes  his  own  cider ;  kills  his  own 
beef;  raises  his  own  wheat,-  rye,  and  flax ;  and,  in 
short,  lives  as  much  as  possible  on  the  articles  of  his 


456  AMERICAN    COUNTRY-HOUSES. 

own  production.  There  are  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  these  sturdy,  independent  yeomen  in 
the  eastern,  middle  and  north-western  States. 

The  villas  and  country-seats  are  commonly  pretty, 
without  ever  attaining  much  elegance  of  size.  A  better 
sort  of  American  country-house  will  cover  perhaps 
sixty  or  seventy  feet  of  ground  in  length,  and  from  fifty 
to  sixty  in  depth.  There  are  some  of  twice  this  size ; 
but  I  should  say  the  first  was  a  fair  average.  There 
are  a  great  many  a  size  smaller.  The  expense  of 
building  is,  of  course,  in  proportion  to  the  general 
cost  of  every  article  in  the  particular  place  where 
the  house  is  erected.  I  am  told  the  best  buildings  in 
New- York  cost  from  thirty  to  forty  thousand  dollars. 
A  few  are  even  much  more  expensive.  But  the 
town-houses,  occupied  by  a  majority  of  their  gentle 
men  (those  who  own  their  own  dwellings),  cost  prob 
ably  something  under  twenty  thousand.*  These  are  the 
habitations  of  the  rich,  exclusively.  They  are  every 
where  exceedingly  neat,  prettily  furnished,  frequently 
with  great  elegaace,  and  are  always  comfortable. 

As  some  general  idea  of  the  state  of  the  useful  arts 
must  have  been  obtained,  in  the  course  of  my  pre 
vious  letters  to  the  fraternity,  I  shall  now  pass  to 
those  which  are  intended  exclusively  to  embellish 
life. 

The  United  States,  considered  with  reference  to 
their  means  and  opportunities,  have  been  exceedingly 
prolific  in  painters.  It  is  rather  remarkable,  that,  in 
a  country  where  active  and  less  hazardous  employ- 


*  The  writer  afterwards  saw  a  row  of  buildings  in  New- 
York  of  the  following  cost  and  dimensions;  twenty-five  feet 
front,  (in  marble)  fifty-five  feet  deep,  and  of  three  stories,  be 
sides  the  basement.  The  lots  were  two  hundred  feet  in  depth 
The  buildings  were  about  as  well  finished  as  a  third-rate  Lon 
don  town-house.  The  cost  of  the  whole  was  ten  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  rent  six  hundred  dollars  a-year.  These  houses 
were  in  the  dearest  city  of  America,  but  not  in  the  dearest 
part  of  the  town. 


AMERICAN    PAINTERS.  457 

ments  are  so  open  to  talent,  men  should  take  an  in 
clination  to  a  pursuit  that  is  rarely  profitable,  and  in 
which  mediocrity  is  as  annoying  as  success  is  tri 
umphant.  I  cannot  say  that  the  majority  of  these 
gentlemen  acknowledge  that  the  fine  arts  are  greatly 
encouraged  in  America,  nor  has  it  yet  been  my  happy 
lot  to  enter  a  country  in  which  artists  and  authors 
were  very  generally  of  opinion  that  the  pen  and  the 
pencil  received  the  rewards  and  honours  which  no 
one  will  deny  they  merit  A  very  great  majority  of 
the  American  artists  are  portrait  painters.  Some  of 
them  are  highly  esteemed  by  their  own  countrymen, 
and  certainly  there  are  a  few  of  a  good  deal  of  merit. 
They  are  generally  more  distinguished  for  spirit  and 
character,  than  for  finish  or  grace ;  but  it  is  quite 
evident  that,  as  a  class,  they  are  rapidly  improving. 
Drawing  is  the  point  in  which  they  chiefly  fail ;  and 
this,  too,  is  probably  an  inherited  defect,  since  most 
of  them  are  disciples  of  the  English  school. 

There  are  some  highly  respectable  professional 
landscape  painters.  One  of  them  (a  Mr.  Cole)  pos 
sesses  the  rare  faculty  of  giving  to  his  pictures  the 
impression  of  nature,  to  a  degree  so  extraordinary, 
that  he  promises  to  become  eminent.  You  know 
my  eye  is  only  for  nature.  I  have  heard  both  high 
eulogiums  and  sneering  critiques  on  the  powers  of 
this  young  man,  as  an  artist;  some  declaring  that  he 
has  reached  a  point  far  beyond  that  attained  by  any 
of  his  competitors,  and  others  denying  that  he  knows 
how  to  make  a  sky  look  blue,  secundum  artem.  To 
me  his  scenery  is  like  the  scenery  from  which  he 
drew ;  and  as  he  has  taste  and  skill  enough  to  reject 
what  is  disagreeable,  and  to  arrange  the  attractive 
parts  of  his  pictures,  I  only  hope  he  will  continue  to 
study  the  great  master  from  whom  he  has  drawn  his 
first  inspirations.  America  has  produced  several  his 
torical  painters.  West,  though  a  native  of  this  coun 
try,  and,  perhaps  with  a  pardonable  vanity,  claimed 
Rr 


458  HISTORICAL  AND  CABINET  PIECES. 

as  such  by  these  people,  was,  to  all  intents  and  pur 
poses  an  English  artist.  There  are  one  or  two  of 
his  pupils  who  practise  their  skill  here,  and  a  few 
others  have  aspired  to  the  highest  branch  of  their  art. 
One  of  them  (Mr.  Alston)  is  said  to  be  employed  on 
a  great  and  elaborate  picture  (the  handwriting  on 
the  wall ;)  and  as  his  taste  and  merit  are  universally 
admitted,  a  good  deal  is  expected  from  his  pencil. 
It  may  serve  to  give  you  a  better  idea  of  the  taste 
for  pictures  in  this  country,  or  rather  of  the  desire 
which  exists  to  encourage  talent,  if  I  mention  the 
price  he  is  to  receive  for  this  work.  A  company  of 
gentlemen  are  said  to  have  bought  the  picture,  in 
advance,  by  agreeing  to  pay  ten  thousand  dollars. 
I  believe  it  is  their  intention  to  remunerate  them 
selves  by  exhibiting  it,  and  then  to  deposit  the  work 
in  some  public  place.  Cabinet  pieces,  by  this  artist, 
are  readily  sold  for  prices  of  between  three  hundred 
and  a  thousand  dollars,  and  the  pencil  of  Cole  is 
employed  as  much  as  he  pleases.  There  are  many 
other  artists  that  paint  portraits  and  landscapes,  who 
seldom  want  orders.  The  government  of  the  United 
States  has  paid  Trumbull  thirty-two  thousand  dollars 
for  the  four  historical  paintings  that  are  destined  to 
fill  as  many  compartments  in  the  rotunda,  or  the 
great  hall  of  the  Capitol. 

It  is  plain  that  the  system  of  elementary  education 
pursued  by  this  country,  must  bring  an  extraordinary 
quantity  of  talent,  within  the  influence  of  those  causes 
which  lead  to  renown.  If  we  suppose  one  hundred 
men  in  America  to  possess  the  same  amount  of  native 
talent  as  one  hundred  men  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world,  more  of  it  will,  of  necessity,  be  excited  to 
action,  since  moie  individuals  are  placed  in  situations 
to  feel  and  to  improve  their  infant  powers.  Although 
a  certain  degree  of  excellence  in  the  higher  branches 
of  learning  and  of  art,  may  yet  be  necessary  to  create 


PRICES    PAID    TO    AUTHORS.  459 

a  standard,  and  even  for  the  establishments  of  higher 
schools  or  real  universities,  still  the  truth  of  this  po 
sition  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  there  already  exists, 
among  this  people,  a  far  more  advanced  state  of  im 
provement  in  all  that  relates  to  the  familiar  interests 
of  life  than  among  any  other.  It  is  true  that  a  division 
of  labour,  and  vast  competition,  may  create  a  degree 
of  minute  perfection  in  many  articles  of  European 
manufacture,  that  is  not  known  in  the  same  articles 
manufactured  here ;  but  I  think  it  will  be  commonly 
found,  in  all  such  cases,  that  these  wary  people  have 
counted  the  profit  and  the  cost  with  sufficient  accu 
racy.  As  circumstances  vary,  they  instantly  improve ; 
and,  once  induced  to  persevere,  they  soon  fearlessly 
challenge  competition. 

The  purely  intellectual  day  of  America  is  yet  in 
its  dawn.  But  its  sun  will  not  arise  from  darkness, 
like  those  of  nations  with  whose  experience  we  are 
familiar ;  nor  is  the  approach  of  its  meridian  to  be 
calculated  by  the  known  progress  of  any  other  peo 
ple.  The  learned  professions  are  now  full  to  over 
flowing,  not  so  much  with  learning  as  with  incum 
bents,  certainly,  but  so  much  so,  as  to  begin  to  give 
a  new  direction  to  education  and  talents.  Writers 
are  already  getting  to  be  numerous,  for  literature  is 
beginning  to  be  profitable.  Those  authors  who  are 
successful,  receive  prices  for  their  labours,  which 
exceed  those  paid  to  the  authors  of  any  country, 
England  alone  excepted  ;  and  which  exceed  even  the 
prices  paid  to  the  most  distinguished  authors  of  the 
mother  country,  if  the  difference  in  the  relative  value 
of  money  in  the  two  countries,  and  in  the  luxury  of 
the  press,  be  computed.  The  same  work  which  is 
sold  in  England  for  six  dollars,  is  sold  in  the  United 
States  for  two.  The  profit  to  the  publisher  is  ob 
tained  out  of  a  common  rate  of  per  centage.  Now, 
as  thirty-three  and  a  third  per  cent,  on  six  thousand 


460  THE    ENGLISH    LANGUAGE. 

dollars,  is  two  thousand,*  and  on  two  thousand  dol 
lars,  only  six  hundred  and  sixty-six,  it  is  quite  evi 
dent,  that  if  both  parties  sell  one  thousand  copies  of 
"a  work,  the  English  publisher  pockets  three  times  the 
most  profit.  And  yet,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
and  notwithstanding  the  great  difference  in  the  popu 
lation  of  the  two  countries,  the  English  bookseller 
rarely  sells  more,  if  he  does  as  many,  copies  of  a 
book,  than  the  American.  It  is  the  extraordinary 
demand  which  enables  the  American  publisher  to 
pay  so  well,  and  which,  provided  there  was  no  Eng 
lish  competition,  would  enable  him  to  pay  still  better, 
or  rather  still  more  generally,  than  he  does  at  present. 

The  literature  of  the  United  States  is  a  subject  of 
the  highest  interest  to  the  civilized  world  ;  for  when 
it  does  begin  to  be  felt,  it  will  be  felt  with  a  force,  a 
directness,  and  a  common  sense  in  its  application,  that 
has  never  yet  been  known.  If  there  were  no  other 
points  of  difference  between  this  country  and  other 
nations,  those  of  its  political  and  religious  freedom, 
alone,  would  give  a  colour  of  the  highest  importance 
to  the  writings  of  a  people  so  thoroughly  imbued  with 
their  distinctive  principles,  and  so  keenly  alive  to 
their  advantages.  The  example  of  America  has  been 
silently  operating  on  Europe  for  half  a  century;  but 
its  doctrines  and  its  experience,  exhibited  with  the 
understanding  of  those  familiar  with  both,  have  never 
yet  been  pressed  on  our  attention.  I  think  the  time 
for  the  experiment  is  getting  near. 

A  curious  inquiry  might  be  raised  as  to  the  proba 
ble  fate  of  the  English  language,  among  so  many 
people  having  equal  claims  to  its  possession.  I  put 
this  question  to  my  friend,  who  has  kindly  permitted 
me  to  give  you  the  substance  of  his  reply.  You  will 

*  This  calculation  supposes  one-third  of  the  price  to  go  to 
the  trade  in  discount,  one-third  to  the  expenses,  and  the  other 
tfaift*  to  constitute  the  joint  profit  of  the  author  and  publisher. 


FASHION    IN    LANGUAGE.  461 

at  once  understand  that  this  is  a  subject  which  re 
quires  a  greater  knowledge  of  the  matter  in  dispute, 
than  what  I,  as  a  foreigner,  can  claim  : — 

"  In  order  to  decide  which  nation  speaks  the  Eng 
lish  language  best,  it  becomes  necessary  to  refer  to 
some  standard.  If  it  be  assumed  that  the  higher 
classes  in  London  are  always  to  set  the  fashion  in 
pronunciation,  and  the  best  living  writers  in  Eng 
land  are  to  fix  the  meaning  of  words,  the  •  point  is 
clearly  decided  in  their  favour,  since  one  cannot  see 
on  what  principle  they  are  to  be  put  in  the  wrong. 
That  the  better  company  of  London  must  set  the 
fashion  for  the  pronunciation  of  words  in  England, 
and  indeed  for  the  whole  English  empire,  is  quite 
plain  ;  for,  as  this  very  company  comprises  all  those 
whose  manners,  birth,  fortune,  and  political  distinc 
tion,  make  them  the  objects  of  admiration,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  imitate  their  affectations,  whether  of 
speech  or  air,  in  order  to  create  the  impression  that 
one  belongs  to  their  society.  It  is  absurd  to  think 
that  either  parliament,  or  the  stage,  or  the  universi 
ties,  or  the  church,  can  produce  any  very  serious 
effect  on  the  slighter  forms  of  utterance  adopted  by 
this  powerful  caste.  The  player  may  hint  at  the  laws 
of  prosody  for  ever,  unless  his  rule  happens  to  suit 
the  public  ear,  it  becomes  no  more  than  the  pronun 
ciation  of  the  stage.  The  fellow,  when  he  gets  be 
yond  his  cloisters,  is  glad  to  conceal  the  habits  of 
retirement  in  the  language  of  the  world ;  and  as  for 
the  member  of  Parliament,  if  he  happen  to  be  of  the 
caste,  he  speaks  like  the  rest  of  them  ;  and  'f  not,  he 
is  no  better  than  a  vulgar  fellow,  who  is  very  glad  to 
conceal  his  provincialisms  by  having  as  little  said 
about  them  as  possible.  In  short,  the  bishop  might 
just  as  well  expect  to  induce  the  exquisite  to  wear  a 
copy  of  his  wig,  or  the  representative  of  Othello,  to 
set  the  fashion  of  smooty  faces,  as  either  of  them  to 
think  of  giving  the  tone  to  pronunciation,  or  even  to 
Rr2 


462  INFLUENCE    OF    THE    ARISTOCRACY. 

the  meaning  of  words.  A  secret  and  lasting  influ 
ence  is  no  doubt  produced  by  education  ;  but  fashion 
is  far  more  imperious  than  even  the  laws  of  the 
schools.  It  is,  I  think,  a  capital  mistake,  to  believe 
that  either  of  the  professions  named,  produce  any 
great  impression  on  the  spoken  language  of  England. 
They  receive  more  from  fashion  than  they  give  to  it 
and  they  each  have  their  particular  phrases,  but  they 
rarely  go  any  farther  than  their  own  limits.  This  its 
more  or  less  the  case  in  all  other  European  nations. 
The  rule  is  more  absolute,  however,  in  England  than 
in  France,  for  instance,  because  the  former  has  no 
academy,  and  because  men  of  letters  have  far  less 
circulation,  and,  of  course,  far  less  influence  in  so 
ciety  there,  than  in  the  neighbouring  kingdom.  The 
^endency  of  every  thing  in  England  is  to  aristocracy. 
I  can  conceive  that  the  King  of  England  might  very 
well  set  a  fashion  in  the  pronunciation  of  a  word, 
because,  being  the  greatest  aristocrat  of  the  nation, 
the  smaller  ones  might  be  ambitious  of  showing  that 
they  kept  enough  of  his  company  to  catch  his  imper 
fections  of  speech ;  but,  as  for  the  King  of  France, 
he  sits  too  much  on  a  pinnacle  for  men  to  presume 
to  imitate  his  blunders.  A  powerful,  wealthy,  he 
reditary,  but  subsidizing  aristocracy,  rules  all  things 
in  England ;  but,  while  wit  gives  up  to  the  King  and 
la  charte,  the  control  of  politics  in  France,  it  asserts 
its  own  prerogative  over  every  other  interest  of  the 
empire,  religion,  perhaps,  a  little  excepted. 

"  There  exists  a  very  different  state  of  things  in 
America.  If  we  had  a  great  capital,  like  London, 
where  men  of  leisure,  and  fortune,  and  education, 
periodically  assembled  to  amuse  themselves,  I  think 
we  should  establish  a  fashionable  aristocracy,  too, 
which  should  give  the  mode  to  tbe  forms  of  speech, 
as  well  as  to  that  of  dress  and  deportment.  Perhaps 
the  influence  of  talent  and  wit  would  be  as  much 


STANDARD  FOR  LANGUAGE  IN  AMERICA.     463 

felt  in  such  a  town  as  in  Paris ;  for  it  is  the  great 
peculiarity  of  our  institutions  to  give  more  influence 
to  talents  than  to  any  one  other  thing.  But  we  have 
no  such  capital,  nor  are  v»  e  likely,  for  a  long  time  to 
come,  to  have  one  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  produce 
any  great  -effect  on  the  language.  In  those  States 
where  many  men  of  leisure  and  education  are  to  he 
found,  there  are  large  towns,  in  which  they  pass 
their  winters,  and  where,  of  course,  they  observe  all 
those  forms  which  are  more  or  less  peculiar  to  them 
selves.  The  habits  of  polite  life,  and  even  the  pro 
nunciation  of  Boston,  of  New-York,  of  Baltimore, 
and  of  Philadelphia,  vary  in  many  things,  and  a  prac 
tised  ear  may  tell  a  native  of  either  of  these  places, 
from  a  native  of  any  one  of  the  others,  by  some  little 
peculiarity  of  speech.  There  is  yet  no  predominating 
influence  to  induce  the  fashionables  of  these  towns  to 
wish  to  imitate  the  fashionables  of  any  other.  If  any 
place  is  to  possess  this  influence,  it  will  certainly  be 
New- York;  but  I  think,  on  an  examination  of  the 
subject,  that  it  can  be  made  to  appear  that  an  entirely 
different  standard  for  the  language  must  be  established 
in  the  United  States,  from  that  which  governs  so  ab 
solutely  in  England. 

"  If  the  people  of  this  country  were  like  the  people 
of  any  other  country  on  earth,  we  should  be  speaking 
at  this  moment  a  great  variety  of  nearly  unintelligible 
patois;  but,  in  point  of  fact,  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  of  German  and 
French  descent,  speak,  as  a  body,  an  incomparably 
better  English  than  the  people  of  the  mother  country.. 
There  K  not,  probably,  a  man  (of  English  descent) 
born  in  this  country,  who  would  not 'be  perfectly 
intelligible  to  all  whom  he  should  meet  in  the  streets 
of  London,  though  a  vast  number  of  those  he  met  in 
the  streets  of  London  would  be  nearly  unintelligible 
to  him.  In  fine,  we  speak  our  language,  as  a  nation, 


464  AMERICAN    PROVINCIALISMS. 

better  than  any  other  people  speak  their  language.* 
When  one  reflects  on  the  immense  surface  of  countrj 
tiiat  we  occupy,  the  general  accuracy,  in  pronuncia 
tion  and  in  the  use  of  words,  is  quite  astonishing. 
This  resemblance  in  speech  can  only  be  ascribed  to 
i  lie  great  diffusion  of  intelligence,  and  to  the  inex 
haustible  activity  of  the  population,  which,  in  a  man 
ner,  destroys  space. 

ic  It  is  another  peculiarity  of  our  institutions,  that 
ihe  language  of  the  country,  instead  of  becoming 
more  divided  into  provincial  dialects,  is  becoming, 
not  only  more  assimilated  to  itself  as  a  whole,  but 
more  assimilated  to  a  standard  which  sound  general 
principles,  and  the  best  authorities  among  our  old 
writers,  would  justify.  The  distinctions  in  speech 
between  New-England  and  New- York,  or  Pennsyl 
vania,  or  any  other  State,  were  far  greater  twenty 
years  ago  than  they  are  now.  Emigration  alone 
would  produce  a  large  portion  of  this  change ;  but 
emigration  would  often  introduce  provincialisms  with 
out  correcting  them,  did  it  not  also,  by  bringing  acute 
men  together,  sharpen  wits,  provoke  comparisons, 
challenge  investigations,  and,  finally,  fix  a  standard. 

"  It  has  been  a  matter  of  hot  dispute,  for  the  last 
twenty  years,  in  which  of  our  large  towns  the  best 
English  is  spoken.  The  result  of  this  discussion 
has  been  to  convince  most  people  who  know  any 
thing  of  the  matter,  that  a  perfectly  pure  English  is 
spoken  nowhere,  and  to  establish  the  superiority,  on 
one  point  in  favour  of  Boston,  on  another  in  favour 
of  New- York,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 
The  effect  of  all  this  controversy  is,  to  make  men 
think  seriously  on  the  subject,  and  thinking  seriously 
is  the  first  step  in  amendment.  We  do  amend,  and 


*  Of  course  the  writer  calls  Italy  one  nation,  and  all  Germany 
one  nation,  so  far  as  language  is  concerned. 


INFLUENCE    OF    LANGUAGE.  465 

each  year  introduces  a  better  and  purer  English  into 
our  country.  We  are  obliged,  as  you  may  suppose, 
to  have  recourse  to  some  standard  to  settle  these 
contentions.  What  shall  this  standard  be  ?  It  is  not 
society,  for  that  itself  is  divided  on  the  disputed 
points ;  it  cannot  be  the  church,  for  there  is  none 
that  will  be  acknowledged  by  all  parties ;  it  cannot 
be  the  stage,  for  that  is  composed  of  foreigners,  and 
possesses  little  influence  on  morals,  politics,  or  any 
thing  else ;  nor  the  universities,  for  they  are  provin 
cial,  and  parties  to  the  dispute;  nor  Congress,  for  that- 
does  not  represent  the  fashion  and  education  of  the 
nation ;  nor  the  court,  for  there  is  none  but  the  Presi 
dent,  and  he  is  often  a  hot  partisan ;  nor  the  fashions 
of  speech  in  England,  for  we  often  find  as  much  fault 
with  them  as  we  do  with  our  own.  Thus,  you  see, 
we  are  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  consulting  reason, 
and  authority,  and  analogy,  and  all  the  known  laws 
of  language,  in  order  to  arrive  at  our  object.  This 
we  are  daily  doing,  and  I  think  the  consequence  will 
be,  that,  in  another  generation  or  two,  far  more  rea 
sonable  English  will  be  used  in  this  country  than 
exists  here  now.  How  far  this  melioration  or  purifi 
cation  of  our  language  will  affect  the  mother  country, 
is  another  question. 

"  It  is,  perhaps,  twenty  years  too  soon  to  expect  that 
England  will  very  complacently  submit  to  receive 
opinions  or  fashions  very  directly  from  America.*'' 
[What  she  will  do  twenty  years  later,  is  a  question 
that  little  concerns  us,  dear  Abbate,  since  I  have  not, 
and  you  ought  not  to  have,  any  very  direct  interests 
in  the  fortunes  of  posterity.]  "But  the  time  has 
already  arrived,  when  America  is  beginning  to  re 
ceive  with  great  distrust  fashions  and  opinions  from 
England.  Until  within  the  last  fifteen  years,  the 
influence  of  the  mother  country,  in  all  things  con 
nected  with  mere  usages,  was  predominant  to  an  in- 


466     PROBABLE  FATE  OF  THE  LANGUAGE. 

credible  extent ;  but  every  day  is  making  a  greater 
change. 

"  On  a  thousand  subjects  we  have  been  rudely 
provoked  into  comparisons, — an  experiment  that  the 
most  faultless  generally  find  to  be  attended  with 
hazard.  We  are  a  bold  though  a  quiet  people,  and 
names  and  fashions  go  for  but  little  when  set  in  op 
position  to  the  unaccommodating  and  downright  good 
sense  of  this  nation.  It  may  be  enough  for  an  Eng 
lishman  that  an  innovation  on  language  is  supported 
by  the  pretty  lips  of  such  or  such  a  belle  of  quality 
and  high  degree;  but  the  American  sees  too  many 
pretty  lips  at  home,  to  be  very  submissive  to  any 
foreign  dictation  of  this  sort.  I  think  it  plain,  there 
fore,  that  the  language  must  be  reduced  to  known 
general  rules,  and  rules,  too,  that  shall  be  respected 
as  such  rules  should  be,  or  else  we  shall  have  a  dialect 
distinct  from  that  of  the  mother  country.  I  have 
not,  however,  the  slightest  apprehensions  of  any  thing 
of  the  kind  arriving,  since  any  one  who  understands 
the  use  of  figures  can  estimate  the  probable  influence 
of  the  two  nations  half  a  century  hence.  I  think  it 
will  be  just  as  much  the  desire  of  England  then  to 
be  in  our  fashion,  as  it  was  our  desire  twenty  years 
ago  to  be  in  hers,  and  for  precisely  the  same  reason. 
The  influence  of  fifty  millions  of  people,  living  under 
one  government,  backed  by  enormous  wealth,  extend 
ed  intelligence,  a  powerful  literature,  and  unrivalled 
freedom,  cannot  be  very  problematical,  in  the  eyes 
of  any  man  who  is  capable  of  regarding  the  subject 
free  from  prejudice  or  passion.  I  very  well  know 
there  is  a  fashion  of  predicting  the  separation  of  our 
States,  and  a  consequent  disorganization  of  society, 
which  would  certainly  weaken  that  influence.  These 
predictions  were  made  fifty  years  ago  with  rather 
more  confidence  than  they  are  made  now,  and  those 
who  know  most  in  the  matter,  treat  them  with  very 
little  deference.  But,  admitting  that  they  should  be 


PROBABLE  FATE  OF  THE  LANGUAGE.     467 

realized,  in  what  particular  will  the  result  materially 
affect  the  question  before  us  ?  A  division  of  this  re 
public  into  two  or  three  republics,  is  the  utmost  that 
can  be  expected.  There  would  still  exist  those  inti 
mate  relations  between  the  parts  of  our  present  em 
pire  which  find  their  support  in  a  conformity  of 
principles,  and  our  intercourse  and  literature  would 
necessarily  be  essentially  the  same.  I  cannot  see 
that  the  impression  on  the  language  would  in  any 
degree  be  weakened,  except  that,  by  dividing  our 
power,  we  might  retard  a  little  the  period  when  the 
weight  of  that  power  should  obtain  its  natural  and 
necessary  preponderance.  You  may  be  assured, 
that,  in  thinking  on  this  subject,  I  have  not  forgotten 
that  history  supplies  sufficient  evidence  that  small 
communities  may  exercise  a  vast  influence  over 
larger;  but  I  do  not  know  where  to  find  a  precedent 
for  a  large  community,  possessing  equal  activity  and 
intelligence,  submitting  to  be  controlled,  either  mor 
ally  or  politically,  by  one  physically  much  weaker.  Our 
own  history  already  furnishes  a  striking  example  of 
the  very  reverse ;  and  as  we  are  bent  on  perpetuating 
alj  the  means  of  our  present  independence,  it  is  fair  to 
presume  that  we  shall  gain  a  moral  ascendancy  in 
the  world,  in  proportion  as  we  gain  physical  force. 
If  a  pretty  duchess  can  now  set  a  fashion  in  speech, 
what  will  not  a  combination  of  two  hundred  millions 
of  persons  do,  (the  number  is  not  at  all  exaggerated 
if  we  carry  the  time  forward  a  century  and  a  half,) 
more  especially  if  all  of  them  shall  happen  to  possess 
a  reasonable  knowledge  of  the  use  of  letters. 

"  You  may  have  a  curiosity  to  know  something  of 
the  present  state  of  the  language  in  America.  I  have 
already  said  that  there  is  no  patois  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  country.  There  is  broken  English 
among  the  Germans,  French,  and  other  foreigners, 
but  nothing  that  is  very  widely  distinct  from  the  lan 
guage  of  London.  Still  there  are  words  of  perfectly 


4G8          THE  PRESENT  LANGUAGE  OF  THE  U.  S. 

provincial  use,  most  of  which  were  brought  from 
certain  parts  of  the  mother  country,  and  which  have 
been  preserved  here,  and  a  few  which  have  been  in 
troduced  from  wantonness  or  necessity.  There  is 
much  more  difference  in  intonation,  and  in  the  pro 
nunciation  of  particular  words,  than  in  the  use  of 
terms  unknown  to  England.  The  best  English  is 
spoken  by  the  natives  of  the  middle  States,  who  are 
purely  the  descendants  of  English  parents,  without 
being  the  descendants  of  emigrants  from  New-Eng 
land.  The  educated  men  of  all  the  southern  Atlantic 
States,  especially  the  members  of  those  families  which 
have  long  been  accustomed  to  the  better  society  of 
their  towns,  also  speak  an  English  but  little  to  be 
distinguished  from  that  of  the  best  circles  of  the 
mother  country.  Still  there  are  shades  of  difference 
between  these  very  persons,  that  a  nice  and  prac 
tised  ear  can  detect,  and  which,  as  they  denote  the 
parts  of  the  Union  to  which  they  belong,  must  be 
called  provincialisms.  These  little  irregularities  of 
language  solely  arise  from  the  want  of  a  capital. 

"Throughout  all  New-England,  and  among  most 
of  the  descendants  of  the  people  of  New-England, 
the  English  language  is  spoken  with  more  or  less  of 
an  intonation  derived,  I  believe,  from  the  western 
counties  of  England,  and  with  a  pronunciation  that 
is  often  peculiar  to  themselves.  They  form  so  large 
a  proportion  of  the  entire  population  of  the  country, 
that  some  of  their  provincialisms  are  getting  to  form 
a  part  of  our  ordinary  language.  The  peculiarity 
of  the  New-England  dialect  (the  term  is  almost 
too  strong)  is  most  discernible  in  the  manner  in 
which  they  dwell  on  the  last  word  of  a  sentence, 
or  the  last  syllable  of  a  word.  It  is  not  properly 
drawling,  for  they  speak  very  quick  in  common, 
much  quicker  than  the  English;  so  quick,  indeed, 
as  to  render  syllables  frequently  indistinct:  but,  in 
consequence  of  the  peculiar  pause  they  make  on  the 


PRONUNCIATION  OF  NEW-ENGLAND.  469 

last  word,  I  question  if  they  utter  a  sentence  in 
less  time  than  those  who  dwell  more  equally  on  its 
separate  parts.*  Among  men  of  the  world  and  of 
education,  this  peculiarity  is,  of  course,  often  lost 
but  education  is  so  common,  and  the  state  of  society 
so  simple  in  New-England,  as  to  produce  less  apparent 
distinction  m  speech  and  manners  than  it  is  usual  to 
find  elsewhere. 

"Another  marked  peculiarity  of  New-England  is 
in  the  pronunciation  of  a  great  many  words.  The 
fact  that  a  vast  improvement  has  occurred  in  this 
respect  within  the  last  thirty  years,  however,  goes  to 
prove  the  truth  of  what  I  have  just  told  you,  no  less 
than  of  the  increasing  intelligence  of  the  nation. 

"When  I  was  a  boy,  I  was  sent  from  a  middle 
State,  for  my  education,  to  Connecticut.  I  took  with 
me,  of  course,  the  language  of  my  father's  house.  In 
the  first  year  I  was  laughed  out  of  a  great  many  cor 
rect  sounds,  and  into  a  great  many  vulgar  and  dis 
agreeable  substitutes.  At  my  return  home  to  pass  a 
vacation,  I  almost  threw  a  sister  into  fits  by  calling 
one  of  her  female  friends  a  'virtoous  an-gel,'  pro 
nouncing  the  first  syllable  of  the  last  word  like  the 
article.  It  was  in  vain  that  I  supported  my  new 
reading  by  the  authorities  of  the  university.  The 
whole  six  weeks  were  passed  in  hot  discussions  be 
tween  my  sister  and  myself,  amidst  the  laughter  and 
merriment  of  a  facetious  father,  who  had  the  habit 
of  trotting  me  through  my  Connecticut  prosody  by 
inducing  me  to  recite  Pope's  Temple  of  Fame,  to  the 
infinite  delight  of  two  or  three  waggish  elder  brothers, 
who  had  got  their  English  longs  and  shorts  in  a  more 
southern  school.  It  was  at  a  time  of  life  when  shav- 


*  The  phrase  of  "  I  wonder  if  he  did,"  is  very  common  in  New  • 
England.  It  is  usually  uttered  "  I  wonder  if  he  de-e-e-e-ed,'' 
with  a  falling  of  the  voice  at  the  last  word,  to  nearly  an  octave 
below  the  rest  of  the  sentence.  Sometimes  there  is  more  than 
one  resting  point,  in  a  sentence  of  any  length. 
Ss 


470  NEW-ENGLAND    PROVINCIALISMS. 

ing  was  a  delight  instead  of  a  torment.  I  remember 
they  were  always  sure  of  drawing  me  out  by  intro 
ducing  the  subject  of  my  beard,  which  I  pedantically 
called  herd ;  or,  for  which,  if  pushed  a  little  harder 
than  common,  I  gave  them  a  choice  between  herd 
and  baird.  Even  to  this  hour,  it  is  rare  to  find  a 
native  of  New-England  who  does  not  possess  some 
of  these  marked  provincialisms  of  speech.  By  a  sin 
gular  corruption,  the  word  stone  is  often  pronounced 
stun,  while  none  is  pronounced  noane,  or  nearly  like 
known.  The  latter  is  almost  a  shibboleth,  as  is 
nothing,  pronounced  according  to  the  natural  power 
of  the  letters,  instead  of  nuthing.  I  think,  however, 
a  great  deal  of  the  peculiarity  of  New-England  pro 
nunciation  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  intelligence  of  its 
inhabitants.  This  may  appear  a  paradox  ;  but  it  can 
easily  be  explained.  They  all  read  and  write ;  but 
the  New-Englandman,  at  home,  is  a  man  of  exceed 
ingly  domestic  habits.  He  has  a  theoretical  know 
ledge  of  the  language,  without  its  practice.  Those 
who  migrate  lose  many  of  their  peculiarities  in  the 
mixed  multitudes  they  encounter;  but  into  New- 
England  the  current  of  emigration,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  that  which  originally  came  from  the  mother 
country,  has  never  set.  It  is  vain  to  tell  a  man  who 
has  his  book  before  him,  that  cham  spells  chame,  as 
in  chamber;  or  an,  ane,  as  in  angel;  or  dan,  dane,  as 
in  danger.  He  replies  by  asking  what  sound  is  pro 
duced  by  an,  dan,  and  cham.  I  believe  it  would  be 
found,  on  pursuing  the  inquiry,  that  a  great  number 
of  their  peculiar  sounds  are  introduced  through  their 
spelling-books,  and  yet  there  are  some,  certainly,  that 
cannot  be  thus  explained.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  nine  people  in  ten,  in  New-England,  pronounce 
does,  dooze,  when  the  mere  power  of  the  letters  would 
make  it  nearer  doze.  There  is  one  more  singular 
corruption,  which  I  shall  mention  before  1  go  farther 
eouth,  and  which  often  comes  from  the  mouths  of 


VULGARITIES    OF    SPEECH.  471 

men,  even  in  Boston,  who,  in  other  respects,  would 
not  be  much  criticised  for  their  language :  the  verb 
to  show  was  formerly,  and  is  even  now,  spelt  shew^ 
and  shewed  in  its  participle ;  I  have  heard  men  of 
education  and  manners,  in  Boston,  say,  "he  shew  me 
that,"  for,  he  showed  me  that. 

"With  these  exceptions,  which  are  sufficiently 
numerous,  and  the  hard  sound  they  almost  always 
give  the  letter  w,  the  people  of  New-England  speak 
the  language  more  like  the  people  of  Old-England 
than  any  other  parts  of  our  country.  They  speak 
with  a  closer  mouth,  both  physically  and  morally, 
than  those  who  live  further  south  and  west.  'There 
is  also  a  little  of  a  nasal  sound  among  some  of  them, 
but  it  is  far  from  being  as  general  as  the  other  pecu 
liarities  I  have  named. 

"  The  middle  States  certainly  speak  a  softer  Eng 
lish  than  their  brethren  of  the  east.  I  should  say, 
that  when  you  get  as  far  south  as  Maryland,  the  soft 
est,  and  perhaps  as  pure  an  English  is  spoken  as  is 
any  where  heard.  No  rule  on  such  a  subject,  how 
ever,  is  without  many  exceptions  in  the  United  States. 
The  emigration  alone  would,  as  yet,  prevent  perfect 
uniformity.  The  voices  of  the  American  females  are 
particularly  soft  and  silvery;  and  I  think  the  language, 
a  harsh  one  at  the  best,  is  made  softer  by  our  women, 
especially  of  the  middle  and  southern  States,  than 
you  often  hear  it  in  Europe. 

"  New-York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  have 
each  their  peculiar  phrases.  Some  of  the  women 
have  a  habit  of  dwelling  a  little  too  long  on  the  final 
syllables,  but  I  think  it  is  rare  among  the  higher 
classes  of  society.  I  don't  know  that  it  exists  at  all, 
as  far  south  as  Baltimore.  As  you  go  further  south, 
it  is  true,  you  get  a  slower  utterance,  and  other  slight 
varieties  of  provincialism.  In  Georgia,  you  find  a 
positive  drawl,  among  what  are  called  the  "  crack 
ers."  More  or  less  of  this  drawl,  and  of  all  the  pe- 


472  VULGARITIES  OF  SPEECH. 

culiar  sounds,  are  found  in  the  south-western  and 
western  States ;  but  they  are  all  too  new  to  have  any 
fixed  habits  of  speech  of  their  own. 

"  The  usual  vulgar  phrases  which  are  put  into  the 
mouths  of  Americans,  are  commonly  caricatured, 
though  always  founded  in  truth.  k  I  guess,'  is  a  phrase 
of  New-England.  It  is  used  a  gret.t  deal,  though  not 
as  often,  as  l  you  know,'  by  a  cockney.  It  proceeds, 
I  think,  from  the  cautious  and  subdued  habit  of  speak 
ing  which  is  characteristic  of  these  people.  The 
gentlemen  rarely  use  it,  though  I  confess  I  have  heard 
it,  interlarding  the  conversation  of  pretty  lips  that 
derived  none  of  their  beauty  from  the  Puritans.  You 
see,  therefore,  that  it  has  been  partially  introduced 
by  the  emigrants  into  the  middle  States.  Criticism 
is  here  so  active,  just  now,  that  it  is  rapidly  gettin 
into  disuse.  The  New-Yorker  frequently  says,  ' 
suspect,'  and  the  Virginian,  '  I  reckon.'  But  the  two 
last  are  often  used  in  the  best  society  in  the  mother 
country.* 

"  The  difference  in  pronunciation  and  in  the  use 
of  words,  between  the  really  good  society  of  this 
country  and  that  of  England,  is  not  very  great.  In 
America,  we  can  always  tell  an  Englishman  by  what 
we  are  pleased  to  call  his  provincialisms  (and,  quite 
half  the  time,  the  term  is  correct,)  I  was  struck  at 
the  close  resemblance  between  the  language  of  the 
higher  classes  in  the  mother  country,  and  the  higher 
classes  of  my  own,  especially  if  the  latter  belong  to 
the  middle  States.  There  are  certainly  points  of  dif 
ference,  but  they  as  often  proceed  from  affectation  in 
individuals,  as  from  the  general  habits  of  the  two 
countries.  Cockneyisms  are  quite  as  frequent  in  the 
language  of  an  English  gentleman,  as  provincialisms 

*  The  negroes  have  a  habit  of  saying,  "  you  sabber  dat,"  for, 
you  know  that;  can  this  be  one  of  their  African  terms,  or  is  it 
a  corruption  of"  saber,"  or  of"  savoir,"  that  has  found  its  way 
to  the  continent  from  the  neighbouring  islands  ? 


ENGLISH  PRONUNCIATION.  473 

in  the  mouth  of  an  American  gentleman  of  the  middle 
States.  1  now  use  the  word  gentleman  in  its  strict 
meaning.  I  have  heard  many  people  of  high  rank  in 
England,  for  instance,  pronounce  '  jours '  as  if  it  were 
spelt  4yers.'  If  affectations  are  to  become  laws,  be 
cause  they  are  conceived  in  the  smoke  of  London, 
then  they  are  right ;  but,  if  old  usage,  the  rules  of  the 
language,  and  the  voices  of  even  educated  men  are 
to  prevail,  then  are  they  wrong.  This  is  but  one 
among  a  hundred  similar  affectations  that  are  detected 
every  day  by  an  attentive  and  critical  ear.  But  mere 
rank,  after  all,  is  not  always  a  criterion  of  correct 
pronunciation  in  an  Englishman  or  an  Englishwoman. 
I  have  met  with  people  of  rank  who  have  spoken  in 
very  perceptible  provincial  dialects.  Parliament  is 
very  far  from  being  faultless  in  its  English,  putting  the 
Irish,  Scotch,  and  aldermen  out  of  the  question.  I 
have  heard  a  minister  of  state  speak  of  the  'o-casion,' 
with  a  heavy  emphasis ;  and  just  before  we  sailed,  I 
remember  to  have  burst  into  involuntary  laughter  at 
hearing  a  distinguished  orator  denounce  a  man  for 
having  been  the  'recipient  of  a  bribe  of  ten  guineas.' 
The  language  of  Parliament  is  undeniably  far  more 
correct  than  that  of  Congress ;  but  when  it  is  recol 
lected  that  the  one  body  is  a  representation  of  the 
aristocracy  of  a  condensed  community,  and  the  other 
a  representation  of  the  various  classes  of  a  widely- 
spread  people,  the  rational  odds  is  immensely  in  our 
favour.  I  am  not  sure  that  one,  who  took  pleasure 
in  finding  fault,  might  not  detect  quite  as  many  cor 
ruptions  of  the  English  language  in  the  good  society 
of  the  mother  country,  as  in  the  good  society  of  oui 
own.  The  latter,  strictly  considered,  bears  a  less  pro 
portion  to  our  numbers,  however,  than  the  same  class 
bears  to  the  population  of  England.  The  amount  of 
the  whole  subject  I  take  to  be  simply  this :  allowing 
for  all  the  difference  in  numbers,  there  is  vastly  more 
bad  English,  and  a  thousand  times  more  bad  gram- 
Ss  2 


474  LA  FAYETTE. 

mar  spoken  in  England  than  in  America ;  and  there 
is  much  more  good  English  (also  allowing  for  the  dif 
ference  in  numbers)  spoken  there  than  here.  Among 
the  higher  and  better  educated  classes,  there  are 
purists  in  both  countries,  who  may  write  and  talk  to 
the  end  of  time ;  innovations  have  been  made,  are 
made,  and  will  be  made  in  both  countries ;  but  as 
two  nations  now  sit  in  judgment  on  them,  I  think 
when  words  once  get  fairly  into  use,  their  triumph 
affords  a  sufficient  evidence  of  merit  to  entitle  them 
to  patronage. 


TO  THE  COMTE  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 


Washington, 

IF  I  have  said  nothing  for  a  long  time,  concerning 
your  distinguished  countryman,  it  has  not  been  for 
want  of  materials.  The  eclat  which  attends  his  pas 
sage  through  the  country,  is  as  brilliant  as  it  was  the 
day  he  landed ;  but  were  I  to  attempt  to  give  you  a 
continuous  history  of  the  ceremonies  and  pageants 
that  grow  out  of  his  visit,  my  letters  would  be  filled 
with  nothing  else.  One  of  the  former  has,  however, 
just  occurred  here,  which  may  have  a  particular  in 
terest.  I  shall,  therefore,  attempt  to  describe  a  few 
of  its  outlines.  Before  proceeding  to  this  task,  per 
mit  me  to  mention  one  circumstance,  that  has  struck 
me  with  peculiar  force,  and  which  I  beg  you  will 
communicate  to  our  friend  the  Abbate,  when  next 
you  write  to  him. 

At  Philadelphia,  after  a  triumphal  entry,  in  which 
something  like  twenty  thousand  of  the  militia  were 


MOVEMENTS  OF  LA  FAYETTE.         475 

nnder  arms,  the  citizens  of  all  classes,  according  to 
custom,  paid  visits  of  congratulation  to  their  guest, 
who  received  them  in  that  famous  hall,  which  has 
become  celebrated  for  being  the  place  where  the 
separation  of  a  portion  of  thi*  continent  from  Europe 
was  first  solemnly  declared.  Among  the  thousands 
who  crowded  around  the  venerable  Frenchman, 
were  all  the  clergy  of  the  city.  They  were  more 
than  sixty  in  number,  and  at  their  head  appeared  the 
Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  with  the 
Bishop  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  at  his  side. 
The  former,  who  is  a  native  of  the  country,  and  one 
of  its  oldest  divines,  delivered  the  sentiments  of  his 
brethren  ;  but  had  the  latter,  who  is  a  foreigner,  been 
of  a  greater  age,  and  of  longer  service,  he  would,  un 
doubtedly,  have  been  selected  to  have  performed 
the  same  ceremony.  It  is  much  the  fashion,  in  Eu 
rope,  to  say  there  is  no  religion  in  the  United  States, 
for  no  better  reason  than  that  there  is  no  church  es 
tablishment,  and,  consequently,  no  exaltation  of  one 
particular  sect,  and  a  consequent  depression  of  all 
others.  But  you  will  allow  there  is  one  evidence 
of  a  Christian  spirit,  that  is  not  always  found  else 
where,  viz.  charity.  Although,  in  theory,  all  de 
nominations  in  the  United  States  are  equal  before 
the  law,  there  is,  in  point  of  fact,  no  country  in  the 
world  that  is  more  decidedly  Protestant  than  this, 
and  yet,  I  do  believe,  it  would  give  scandal  to  the 
whole  nation,  to  learn  that  a  slight,  or  an  offence 
of  any  nature,  were  given  to  a  priest,  merely  be 
cause  he  happened  to  belong  to-  the  Roman  Catholic 
communion. 

La  Fayette  arrived  in  Washington  some  time  be 
fore  the  meeting  of  Congress.  He  had  an  appropri 
ate  reception  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  arid 
was  received  into  the  house  of  the  President.  But 
his  time  was  too  precious  to  be  unnecessarily  lost. 
All  were  anxious  to  see  him,  and  he  was,  apparently, 


476         RECEIVED  BY  THE  SENATE. 

just  as  anxious  to  see  all.  Leaving  Washington,  aftei 
a  short  residence,  he  paid  a  visit  to  Virginia,  where 
he  found  Jefferson  and  Madison,  the  two  last  Presi 
dents,  living  in  retirement,  and  where  he  must  also 
have  spent  several  delightful  days  on  the  theatre  of 
that  brilliant  campaign,  where,  though  but  a  boy,  he 
foiled  all  the  sagacity  and  activity  of  an  experienced 
and  enterprising  general,  (Cornwallis,)  and  prepared 
the  way  for  the  final  and  glorious  success  with  which 
(lie  war  of  1776  was  terminated. 

On  his  return  to  this  place,  it  was  announced  that 
the  House  of  Representatives  intended  to  give  him  a 
public  and  solemn  reception.  He  was  received  by 
the  Senate  in  a  simple,  and  more  private,  but  in  an 
affectionate  manner.  I  was  in  their  hall,  on  this  oc 
casion,  and  was  greatly  struck  with  the  quiet  dignity 
of  the  ceremony.  There  was  a  short  address,  and  a 
simple  reply,  after  which  La  Fayette  was  invited  to 
take  his  seat  on  the  sofa,  by  the  side  of  the  President 
of  the  Senate.*  He  afterwards  frequently  visited 
the  Senate  chamber,  to  hear  the  debates,  and,  on  all 
these  occasions,  he  was  seated  in  the  same  place. 
There  was  something  noble,  as  well  as  touching,  in 
the  sight  of  a  veteran  returning  to  the  scene  of  his 
services,  after  a  life  like  that  of  La  Fayette,  and  of 
being  thus  received  so  familiarly  and  affectionately 
into  the  bosom  of  the  highest  legislative  body  of  a 
nation,  that  was  enjoying  a  prosperity  and  ease  far 
exceeding  that  known  to  any  other  people. 

On  the  day  of  the  more  public  ceremony  in  the 
hall  of  the  Representatives,  every  one  was  seen 
mounting  the  Capitol  hill  at  an  early  hour.  We  got 
places,  as  usual,  on  the  floor  of  the  house,  where 
we  could  both  hear  and  see.  The  galleries  were 

*  The  Vice-President  of  that  day,  being  often  indisposed, 
rarely  presided,  and  a  President  pro  tern.,  according  to  a  cus 
tom,  performed  his  duties.  The  Vice-President  (Mr  Tomp- 
kins)  died  soon  after. 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  REPRESENTATIVES     477 

crowded  to  overflowing,  being  filled  with  fine  women 
and  well-dressed  men.  The  body  of  the  house  was, 
of  course,  occupied  by  none  but  the  members,  while 
the  inner  lobbies,  or  the  circular  space  along  the 
walls,  and  behind  the  Speaker's  chair,  were  occupied 
by  those  who,  of  right,  or  by  virtue  of  sufficient  in 
fluence,  were  allowed  to  enter. 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  is  a 
man  of  singular  talents,  and  of  great  native  eloquence. 
In  person  he  is  tall  and  spare,  and  he  is  far  from  be 
ing  graceful  in  his  ordinary  air  and  attitudes.  His 
countenance  is  one  of  those  in  which  a  pleasing 
whole  is  produced  by  parts  that  are  far  from  being 
particularly  attractive.  In  face  and  form,  Mr.  Clay 
(the  Speaker)  is  not  unlike  the  pictures  of  the  last 
Pitt,  nor  is  he  unlike  him  in  the  power  of  addressing 
public  bodies.  Notwithstanding  these  defects  of  the 
physique,  few  men  are  capable  of  producing  as  great 
an  effect  as  Mr.  Clay,  when  he  is  placed  in  situations 
to  exhibit  his  talents.  His  gesticulation  is  graceful, 
and  exceedingly  dignified,  his  utterance  slow,  dis 
tinct,  and  gentlemanly,  and  his  voice  one  of  the 
sweetest  imaginable.* 

At  the  appointed  hour,  the  doors  of  the  hall  were 
thrown  open,  and  a  simple  little  procession  advanced 
with  dignity  into  the  body  of  the  house.  It  was  com 
posed  of  the  Senators  of  the  United  States,  preceded 
by  a  delegation  of  the  lower  house,  who  had  been 
sent  to  invite  them  to  attend  at  the  approaching  cere 
mony.  They  were  in  pairs ;  the  Senators  of  each 
State  walking  together.  Forty-eight  chairs  were 
placed  near  the  Speaker  for  their  reception,  and,  after 
exchanging  bows  with  the  members  of  the  lower 

*  The  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  (Mr.  Wirt) 
has  the  sweetest  voice  the  writer  ever  heard  in  a  public 
speaker.  It  is  something  in  the  style  of  that  of  Mr.  Peel, 
though  nothing  can  be  more  different  than  their  usual  man 
ner  of  speaking. 


478  ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CLAY. 

house,  who  were  standing,  the  whole  were  seated 
together.  As  the  Senators  never  wear  their  hats,  the 
Representatives,  on  this  occasion,  took  their  seats 
uncovered.  A  few  minutes  after,  M.  George  La 
Fayette  and  the  secretary  of  the  general,  were  shown 
into  the  hall  and  provided  with  places. 

The  doors  now  opened  again,  and  a  deputation  of 
twenty-four  members  of  Congress  (one  from  each 
State)  slowly  entered  the  hall.  In  their  front  was  La 
Fayette,  supported  by  their  chairman  and  a  repre 
sentative  from  Louisiana.  The  whole  assembly  rose; 
the  guest  was  led  into  the  centre  of  the  hall,  and 
then  the  chairman  of  the  deputation  said,  in  an  audi 
ble' voice, 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  your  committee  have  the  honour 
to  introduce  General  La  Fayette  to  the  House  of 
Representatives." 

A  sofa  had  been  placed  for  La  Fayette,  and  he  was 
now  invited  to  be  seated.  Both  houses  resumed  their 
chairs,  and  the  guest  occupied  his  sofa.  A  short  pause 
succeeded,  when  the  Speaker  rose  with  deliberation 
and  dignity.  The  instant  the  tones  of  his  sweet  voice 
were  heard  in  the  hall,  a  silence  reigned  among  the 
auditors  that  equalled  the  stillness  of  death.  La 
Fayette  stood  to  listen.  The  address  was  evidently 
extempore,  but  it  was  delivered  with  the  ease  of  a 
man  long  accustomed  to  rely  on  himself,  in  scenes 
of  high  excitement.  He  was  evidently  moved,  though 
the  grace  of  manner  and  the  command  of  words  were 
rather  heightened  than  suppressed,  by  his  emotions. 
I  shall  endeavour  to  give  you  the  substance  of  what 
he  said: 

"  General, — The  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States,  impelled  alike  by  its  own  feelings, 
and  by  those  of  the  whole  American  people,  could 
not  have  assigned  to  me  a  more  gratifying  duty,  than 
that  of  presenting  to  you  cordial  congratulations  on 
the  occasion  of  your  recent  arrival  in  this  country, 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CLAY.  479 

In  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  Congress,  I  assure 
you  of  the  very  high  satisfaction  which  your  presence 
affords  on  this  early  theatre  of  your  glory.  Although 
but  few  of  the  members  who  compose  this  body, 
shared  with  you  in  the  war  of  our  revolution,  all 
have  learned  from  impartial  history,  or  from  faithful 
tradition,  a  knowledge  of  the  perils,  the  sufferings, 
and  the  sacrifices  which  you  voluntarily  encounter 
ed,  and  of  the  signal  services  which  you  performed 
in  America,  and  in  Europe,  for  an  infant,  a  distant, 
and  an  alien  people.  All  feel  and  own  the  very  great 
extent  of  the  obligation  under  which  you  have  placed 
the  nation.  But  the  relations  in  which  you  have  ever 
stood  to  the  United  States,  interesting  and  important 
as  they  have  been,  do  not  constitute  the  only  motive 
for  the  respect  and  admiration  of  this  House.  Your 
consistency  of  character,  your  uniform  devotion  to 
regulated  liberty,  through  all  ttie  vicissitudes  of  a  long 
and  arduous  life,  command  its  profound  admiration. 
During  the  recent  convulsions  of  Europe,  amidst,  no 
less  than  after  the  dispersion  of,  every  political 
storm,  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  beheld 
you,  true  to  your  principles,  erect  in  every  danger, 
and  cheering,  with  your  well-known  voice,  the  vota 
ries  of  liberty;  a  faithful  and  fearless  champion,  ready 
to  shed  the  last  drop  of  that  blood  which  here  you 
had  already  so  freely  and  so  nobly  spilt  in  the  same 
holy  cause. 

"  The  vain  wish  has  been  sometimes  indulged  that 
Providence  would  allow  the  patriot  to  return  to  his 
country  after  death,  and  to  contemplate  the  changes 
to  which  time  had  given  birth.  To  the  American  this 
would  have  been  to  view  the  forest  felled,  cities  built, 
mountains  levelled,  canals  cut,  highways  constructed, 
the  progress  of  the  arts,  the  advancement  of  learning, 
and  the  increase  of  population. 

"  General, — Your  present  visit  is  a  realization  of 
the  consoling  object  of  that  wish.  You  stand  in  the 


480  ADDRESS  OI  MR.  CLAY. 

midst  of  posterity.  Every  where  you  must  have  been 
struck  with  the  physical  and  moral  changes  which 
have  occurred  since  you  left  us.  This  very  city,  bear 
ing  a  name  dear  to  you  and  to  us,  has  since  emerged 
from  the  forest  which  then  covered  its  site.  In  one 
thing  you  behold  us  unaltered  ;  the  sentiment  of  con 
tinued  devotion  to  liberty,  and  of  ardent  and  pro 
found  gratitude  to  your  departed  friend,  the  father 
of  his  country,  and  to  you  and  to  your  illustrious  asso 
ciates  in  the  field  and  in  the  cabinet,  for  the  multi 
plied  blessings  which  surround  us,  and  for  the  very 
privilege  which  I  now  exercise  of  addressing  you. 
This  sentiment,  now  fondly  cherished  by  more  than 
ten  millions  of  people,  will  be  transmitted,  with  un 
abated  vigour,  down  the  tide  of  time  to  the  latest  pos 
terity,  through  the  countless  millions  who  are  des 
tined  to  inhabit  this  continent." 

During  this  discourse,  La  Fayette  was  visibly  af 
fected.  Instead  of  answering  immediately,  he  took 
his  seat,  which  he  retained  for  a  minute,  struggling  to 
conquer  his  feelings ;  then  rising,  he  replied  in  Eng 
lish,  and  with  powerful  feeling,  nearly  as  follows.  1 
think  the  slight  evidence  of  a  foreign  idiom,  which 
his  reply  contains,  adds  to  its  interest. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of 
Representatives — While  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  their  honourable  Representatives  in  Con 
gress,  have  deigned  to  make  choice  of  me,  one  of  the 
American  veterans,  to  signify  in  his  person  their  es 
teem  for  our  joint  services  and  their  attachment  to 
the  principles  for  which  we  have  had  the  honour  to 
fight  and  bleed,  I  am  proud  and  happy  to  share  those 
extraordinary  favours  with  my  dear  revolutionarj 
companions.  Yet,  it  would  be,  on  my  part,  uncandid 
and  ungrateful  not  to  acknowledge  my  personal  share 
in  those  testimonies  of  kindness,  as  they  excite  in  my 
breast  emotions  which  no  words  are  adequate  to 
express. 


REPLY  OF   LA  FAYEl'lE  481 

"  My  obligations  to  the  United  States,  Sir,  far  ex 
ceed  any  merit  I  might  claim.  They  date  from  the 
time  when  I  have  had  1  fie  happiness  to  be  adopted 
as  a  young  soldier,  a  favoured  son  of  America ;  they 
have  been  continued  to  me  during  almost  half  a  cen 
tury  of  constant  affection  and  confidence  ;  and  now, 
Sir,  thanks  to  your  most  gratifying  invitation,  I  find 
myself  greeted  by  a  series  of  welcomes,  one  hour  of 
which  would  more  than  compensate  for  the  public 
exertions  and  sufferings  of  a  whole  life. 

"  The  approbation  of  the  American  people,  and  of 
their  representatives,  for  my  conduct  during  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  European  revolution,  is  che  highest 
reward  I  could  receive.  Well  may  I  stand  firm  and 
erect,  when  in  their  names,  and  by  you,  Mr.  Speak 
er,  I  am  declared  to  have,  in  every  instance,  been 
faithful  to  those  American  principles  of  liberty,  equal 
ity,  and  true  social  order,  the  devotion  to  which,  as 
it  has  been  from  my  earliest  youth,  so  it  shall  con 
tinue  to  be  a  solemn  duty  to  my  latest  breath. 

"  You  have  been  pleased,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  allude 
to  the  peculiar  felicity  of  my  situation,  when,  after 
so  long  an  absence,  I  am  called  to  witness  the  im 
mense  improvements,  the  admirable  communications, 
of  the  prodigious  creation  of  which  we  find  an  ex 
ample  in  this  city,  whose  name  itself  is  »  venerated 
palladium ;  in  a  word,  all  the  grandeur  and  prosper 
ity  of  those  happy  United  States,  who,  at  the  same 
time  they  nobly  secure  the  complete  assertion  of 
American  independence,  reflect  on  every  part  of  the 
world  the  light  of  a  far  superior  political  civilization. 

"  What  better  pledge  can  be  given  of  a  persevering 
national  love  of  liberty,  when  those  blessings  are  evi 
dently  the  result  of  a  virtuous  resistance  to  oppres 
sion,  and  of  institutions  founded  on  the  rights  of  man 
and  the  republican  principle  of  self-government? 

"No,  Mr.  Speaker,  posterity  has  not  begun  for 
me,  since,  in  the  sons  of  my  companions  and  friends, 
Tt 


482  HOUSE    ADJOURNS. 

I  find  the  same  public  feelings,  and,  permit  me  to 
add,  the  same  feelings  in  my  behalf,  which  I  have 
had  the  happiness  to  experience  in  their  fathers. 

"  Sir,  I  have  been  allowedy  forty  years  ago,  before 
a  committee  of  a  Congress  of  thirteen  States,  to  ex 
press  the  fond  wishes  of  an  American  heart.  On  thig- 
day,  I  have  the  honour,  and  enjoy  the  delight,  to 
congratulate  the  representatives  of  the  Union,  so 
vastly  enlargedy  on  the  realization  of  those  wishes, 
even  beyond  every  human  expectation,  and  upon  the 
almost  infinite  prospects  we  can  with  certainty  anti 
cipate.  Permit  meTMr.  Speaker,  and  Gentlemen  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  to  join  to  the  expres 
sion  of  those  sentiments,  a  tribute  of  my  lively  grati 
tude,  affectionate  devotion,  and  profound  respect." 

A  deeper  silence  never  pervaded  any  assembly 
than  that  with  which  the  audience  listened  to  this 
answer.  There  was  so  much  of  nature,  of  sincerity, 
and  of  affection  in  the  manner  of  the  speaker,  and 
quite  evidently  so  little  of  preparation  in  the  lan 
guage  of  his  reply,  that  it  produced  a  vastly  greater 
effect  than  any  studied  discourse,  however  elegant  in 
phraseology  and  thought. 

After  a  short  pause  of  a  few  minutes,  during  which 
many  of  the  members  were  manifestly  stilling  their 
awakened  feelings,  the  gentleman  who  had  announced 
La  Fayette  arose,  and  impressively  moved  that  the 
house  should  now  adjourn.  The  question  was  put 
and  carried,  and  then  all  present,  members  and  spec 
tators,  crowded  about  their  guest,  to  renew  welcomes 
and  felicitations  which  were  reiterated  for  the  thou 
sandth  time. 

I  do  not  know  that  the  Americans  have  any  par 
ticular  tact  in  .heir  manner  of  conducting  ceremo 
nies,  perhaps,  on  the  contrary,  they  are  not  much 
practised  in  their  mysteries  ;  but,  as  natural  feelings 
are  as  little  disturbed  as  possible,  I  have  ever  found 
in  the  receptions,  greetings,  and  fetes  they  have  given 


ANECDOTE  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.       483 

to  La  Fayette,  a  simplicity  and  touching  affection 
that  has  gone  directly  to  the  heart.  The  veteran 
himself  has  manifested,  on  all  occasions,  a  wonderful 
tact  and  readiness.  Notwithstanding  the  gravity  and 
earnest  air  he  has  so  often  been  compelled  to  en 
counter,  he  has,  in  every  instance,  managed  to  strip 
the  ceremony  of  the  stiffness  of  preparation,  and  to 
give  to  the  interviews  the  warmth  and  interest  that 
should  distinguish  a  meeting  between  a  parent  and 
his  children. 

After  the  business  of  the  morning  was  ended,  Cad- 
wallader  and  myself  joined  a  small  party  which  con 
tinued  about  the  person  of  La  Fayette,  whom  we 
accompanied  to  his  lodgings.  The  heart  of  the  old 
man  was  full,  and  he  took  an  evident  delight  in 
recurring  to  those  events  of  the  revolution  which  re 
dounded  to  the  credit  of  a  people,  in  whose  history 
and  character  he  seems  to  take  the  same  pride  that  a 
fond  father  would  feel  in  witnessing  the  advance  of  a 
promising  son.  During  our  ride,  fie  mentioned  sev 
eral  little  circumstances  that  are  worthy  of  repetition ; 
but  the  limits  of  this  letter  must  confine  me  to  two. 

In  the  year  1779  and  1780,  La  Fayette  command 
ed  the  light  infantry  of  the  American  army.  Most  of 
the  soldiers  were  natives  of  New-England,  or  of  the 
middle  States.  With  these  troops  he  was  sent  from 
the  north  to  act  against  Cornwallis,  in  that  mem 
orable  campaign  in  which  he  did  himself  so  much 
honour  by  his  prudence  and  spirit,  and  which  ter 
minated  in  the  capture  of  the  latter.  On  reaching 
Baltimore,  the  effects  of  climate,  and  of  a  removal 
from  home,  became  quite  apparent  on  the  spirits  of 
his  men.  They  conversed  among  themselves  of  the 
dangers  of  a  summer  passed  in  the  low  counties  of 
Virginia,  and  for  a  few  nights  there  were  repeated 
desertions.  It  was  of  the  last  importance  to  put  a 
stop  to  a  feeling  that  threatened  destruction  to  the 
service.  The  young  Frenchman  took  counsel  of  his 


484       ANECDOTE  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 

own  heart,  and  acted  accordingly.  He  issued  a  gen 
eral  order,  in  which  he  set  forth  the  dangers  of  the 
climate,  and  the  hazards  and  hardships  of  the  contem- 
•plated  service  in  the  plainest  language,  concluding  by 
calling  on  those  who  felt  unequal  to  the  trial  to  pre 
sent  themselves,  in  order  that  they  might  be  embodied 
and  sent  back  to  the  main  army,  since  it  was  abso 
lutely  necessary  that  he  should  know  the  precise 
force  on  which  he  might  depend.  Not  a  man  came 
forward  to  claim  the  promised  favour;  and,  what  is 
far  more  remarkable,  not  another  desertion  occurred. 
The  second  anecdote  is  still  more  worthy  of  relation. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  the  war  of  1776,  the 
American  army  was  rarely  exempted  from  severe 
suffering.  They  had  to  contend  with  disease  and 
hunger;  were  often  without  shoes,  even  in  winter, 
and  frequently  without  ammunition.*  On  one  occa 
sion,  it  is  known  that  famine  actually  pervaded  the 
grand  army  while  it  lay  at  no  great  distance  in  front 
of  general  Howe,  who  was  at  the  head  of  a  powerful 
and  an  admirably  appointed  force.  During  the  cam 
paign  of  1780,  La  Fayette,  who,  you  will  remember, 
was  an  American  general,  was  joined  by  a  small 
French  force.  He  continued  to  command  as  the 
senior  officer.  There  was  a  scarcity  in  the  camp, 
and  it  became  necessary  to  resort  to  severe  measures 
in  order  to  provide  for  the  allies.  He  boldly  issued 
an  order  that  no  American  should  receive  a  mouthful 
until  the  French  soldiers  were  furnished  with  full 


*  The  writer  made  an  acquaintance  with  two  veterans  of  that 
war,  while  in  America.  One  of  them  assured  him  he  marched 
into  the  battle  of  Trenton  (he  was  a  lieutenant,  and  it  was  in 
the  depth  of  winter)  without  a  shirt ;  and  the  other,  who  was 
in  the  cavalry,  assured  him,  that  by  charging  at  the  battle  of 
Eutaw  into  a  thicket  of  black-jacks,  (a  sort  of  thorny  bush,) 
where  the  English  infantry  had  thrown  themselves,  after  the 
principal  rencontre,  he  lost  a  far  more  important  vestment, 
which  he  was  not  able  to  replace,  until  he  luckily  found  a 
piece  of  tow-cloth  in  the  highway. 


ANECDOTE.  485 

rations,  and  for  several  days  the  camp  exhibited  the 
singular  spectacle  of  one  portion  of  its  inmates  being 
full  fed,  while  the  other  was  on  an  exceedingly  lim 
ited  allowance.  What  renders  the  forbearance  of 
the  native  troops  still  more  worthy  of  praise,  is  the 
fact,  that  the  officer  who  commanded  the  dangerous 
distinction,  was  a  countryman  of  those  who  were 
well  fed :  yet  no  man  heard  a  murmur !  To  me  it 
seems,  that  the  mutual  confidence  exhibited  in  this 
fact,  is  as  creditable  to  him  who  dared  to  issue  the 
order,  as  to  those  who  knew  how  to  submit  to  it 
without  complaint. 


TO  THE  PROFESSOR  CHRISTIAN  JANSEN, 

4rc.  4rc. 


Washington, 

— IT  was  a  week  before  I  recovered  from  the  shock 
of  such  an  alarm.  But  on  more  mature  thought, 
(especially  when  I  came  coolly  to  reflect  on  some 
recent  dangers  through  which  I  had  myself  passed  in 
triumph,  as  well  as  on  the  numberless  instances  in 
which  I  had  felt  symptoms  of  the  same  disorder,)  I 
began  to  consider  your  cause  as  far  from  hopeless. 
We  become  more  liable  to  these  attacks  as  we  ad 
vance  in  life,  and  I  warn  you  of  being  constantly  on 
your  guard  against  them.  I  also  beg  leave  to  recom 
mend  exercise  and  change  of  scene  as  the  most 
effectual  cure.  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  had  not 
fortune  made  us  all  travellers,  we  should  long  since 
have  ceased  to  be  the  independent  beings  we  are. 
Waller  spoke,  in  his  last  letter,  of  a  Venetian  beauty, 
Tt2 


486  A    PEDIGREE. 

in  language  that  seemed  ominous ;  but  I  know  too 
well  that  deep  inward  eccentricity  of  the  man,  which 
he  so  prettily  calls  mauvaise  honte,  to  dread  any  thing 
serious  from  the  affair.  I  think  his  eminently  impar 
tial  manner  of  viewing  things,  will  for  ever  save  him 
from  the  sin  of  matrimony.  Besides,  the  girl  is  only 
descended  from  two  doges  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  four  or  five  old  admirals  of  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth,  a  genealogy  that  surely  cannot  pretend  to 
compete  with  the  descent  of  a  Somersetshire  baronet, 
whose  great-grandfather  was  an  alderman  of  Lin 
coln,  and  whose  great-grandmother  was  the  youngest 
daughter  of  a  British  officer.  If  you  doubt  the  truth 
of  the  last  circumstance,  1  refer  you  to  the  half-pay 
list  of  lieutenants  of  dragoons,  in  the  reign  of  George 
the  Second. 

You  have  made  a  much  more  formidable  request 
than  you  appear  to  think,  when  you  desire  that  I  will 
give  you  a  detailed  account  of  the  system  of  juris 
prudence,  of  the  laws,  and  of  the  different  courts  of 
this  country.  The  subject,  properly  and  ably  con 
sidered,  would  require  a  year  of  time,  and  infinitely 
more  legal  science  than  1  can  lay  claim  to  possess. 
Still,  as  I  may  tell  you  some  things  of  which  you  are 
as  yet  a  stranger,  I  shall  not  shrink  from  the  task  of 
communicating  the  little  I  do  know,  under  the  stale 
plea  of  incompetency. 

About  a  week  after  our  arrival  in  this  place,  Cad- 
wallader  and  myself  had  descended  from  the  hall  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  to  the  caucus,  and  we 
were  about  to  leave  the  Capitol,  when  my  friend 
made  a  sudden  inclination  to  the  left,  motioning  for 
me  to  follow.  He  passed  into  the  basement  of  the 
northern  wing  of  the  edifice.  I  had  seen  but  a  few 
minutes  before,  by  the  naked  flag-staff,  that  the  Sen 
ate  had  adjourned,*  and,  was  about  to  say  as  much, 

*  A  flag  is  kept  flying  over  the  wings  in  which  the  two  houses 
*weet,  when  they  are  in  session,  and  they  are  struck  as  either 


SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.   48? 

when  I  observed,  that  in  place  of  ascending  the  stairs 
which  led  to  their  chamber,  he  proceeded  deeper  into 
the  lower  apartments  of  the  wing.  Opening  a  simple 
door,  we  entered  a  spacious,  but  low  and  far  from 
brilliant  apartment  It  was  lighted  only  from  one  of 
its  sides.  Directly  in  front  of  the  windows,  and  a 
little  elevated  above  the  rest  of  the  floor,  sat  seven 
grave  looking  men,  most  of  whom  had  passed  the 
meridian  of  life.  They  were  clad  in  simple  black 
silk  robes,  not  unlike  those  worn  by  the  students  of 
universities,  and  most  of  them  were  busily  occupied 
an  taking  notes.  Immediately  in  their  front,  some  ten 
or  twelve  respectable  men  were  seated,  who  had 
nothing  in  attire  to  distinguish  them  from  the  ordinary 
gentlemen  of  the  country.  There  were  two  or  three 
others  who  had  the  air  of  being  inferior  employes  of 
some  grave  and  important  body;  though,  with  the 
exception  of  the  black  silk  robes,  I  saw  no  other 
badges  of  office.  On  the  right,  and  on  the  left,  there 
were  benches  in  rows,  and  perhaps  thirty  or  forty 
more  gentlemen  were  seated  on  them,  listening  to 
what  was  said.  Among  these  auditors,  there  might 
have  been  a  dozen  genteel  looking  women.  This 
assemblage  was  composed  of  the  judges,  the  advo 
cates,  the  officers,  and  the  suitors  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  All  present  who  did 
not  come  within  one  or  the  other  of  the  above-men 
tioned  denominations,  were,  like  ourselves,  merely 
curious  witnesses  of  the  proceedings. 

We  staid  an  hour  listening  to  the  argument  of  a 
distinguished  advocate.  He  was  a  member  of  Con 
gress  from  one  of  the  eastern  States,  and  by  the  sim 
plicity  of  his  language,  and  the  acuteness  and  force 
of  his  thoughts,  he  was  clearly  a  man  who  would 

body  adjourns.  These  are  signals  that  enable  people  at  a  dis 
tance  to  learn  whether  the  Senate,  or  lower  house,  are  still  to 
gether  or  not. 


488        APPEARANCE  OF  THE  COURT. 

have  done  credit  to  any  tribunal  in  the  world.  The 
manner  of  the  speaker  was  rather  cold,  but  it  was 
dignified,  and  he  paid  the  highest  compliment  to  his 
auditors,  by  addressing  all  he  said  to  their  reasons. 
The  judges  listened  with  grave  attention,  and  indeed 
the  whole  scene  wore  the  air  of  a  calm  and  a  highly 
reasonable  investigation. 

My  attention  was  given  more  to  the  severe  sim 
plicity  which  marked  the  aspect  and  proceedings  of 
this  powerful  tribunal,  than  to  the  particular  subject 
before  it.  I  found  high  authority  again  reposing  with 
confidence  on  the  most  naked  ceremonials,  and  I 
again  found  it  surrounded  by  an  air  of  deep  rever 
ence,  which  proves  how  little  the  vulgar  auxiliaries 
of  our  eastern  inventions  are  necessary  to  insure  it 
respect  and  obedience.  On  no  other  occasion  was  I 
ever  so  completely  sensible  of  the  feebleness  of  an 
artificial,  or  of  the  majesty  of  a  true,  because  a  natu 
ral  dignity,  as  on  this.  I  have  heard  the  wigs,  and 
robes,  and  badges  of  office  of  half  the  tribunals  of 
Europe  laughed  at,  even  by  those  who  become  fa 
miliar  with  their  absurdities ;  but  1  do  not  know  on 
what  the  most  satirical  wit  could  seize,  m  a  body  like 
this,  to  turn  into  ridicule.  It  is  no  small  proof  of  the 
superiority  that  is  obtained  by  the  habit  of  consider 
ing  things  in  their  direct  and  natural  aspects,  that 
wigs,  and  other  similar  encumbrances,  which  are 
heaped  upon  the  human  form,  with  us,  in  order  to 
heighten  respect,  in  this  country  are  avoided,  in  or 
der  to  protect  those,  who  should  be  venerated,  from 
undeserved  ridicule. 

Considered  in  reference  to  its  functions,  and  to  the 
importance  of  the  trusts  which  it  discharges,  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States  is  the  most  august 
tribunal  of  the  world.  It  may  not  yet  be  called  upon 
to  decide  on  causes  which  involve  as  great  an  amount 
of  property,  perhaps,  as  some  of  the  courts  of  Eng 
land  ;  but,  as  the  wealth  and  power  of  this  country 


SYSTEM    OF    JURISPRUDENCE.  489 

shall  increase  with  its  growth,  the  matters  it  decides 
will  become  still  greater;  and  it  now  produces  a 
mighty  influence  on  the  interests  of  the  whole  Union. 
You  will  better  understand  the  subject,  if  we  take  a 
rapid  view  of  the  judicial  system  of  the  confedera 
tion,  as  it  is  connected  with  those  of  the  several 
States. 

You  already  know  that  the  theory  of  the  American 
government  assumes  that  all  power  is  the  natural 
and  necessary  right  of  the  people.  The  accidental 
circumstances  of  colonization  had  thrown  the  settlers 
into  a  certain  number  of  bodies  politic,  before  the  era 
of  their  revolution.  Until  that  event  arrived,  each 
province  was  entirely  distinct  and  independent  of  all 
the  others,  except  as  they  had  common  relations 
through  their  allegiance  to  the  crown  of  England, 
ind  through  those  commercial  and  general  interests 
which  united  them  as  the  subjects  of  the  ftame  em 
pire. 

For  the  purpose  of  achieving  their  independence, 
the  different  provinces  entered  into  a  compact  which 
partook  of  the  nature  of  an  intimate  and  indissoluble 
alliance.  The  articles  of  the  confederation  were  a 
sort  of  treaty,  that  was  not,  however,  limited  to  defi 
nite,  but  which  embraced  general  objects,  and  which 
was  to  know  no  limits  to  its  duration,  but  such  as 
necessity  must  put  to  all  things.  Still  it  was  little 
more  than  an  intimate  alliance  between  thirteen 
separate  and  independent  governments.  Money  was 
to  be  raised  for  avowed  and  general  purposes  ;  but  it 
was  done  in  the  way  of  subsidies  rather  than  of  tax 
ation.  Each  State  collected  its  own  resources  in  its 
own  manner,  and  it  had  fulfilled  most  of  its  obliga 
tions  to  the  confederation  when  it  had  paid  its  quota, 
and  when  it  permitted  the  few  public  agents  appoint 
ed  by  the  Congress  to  discharge  the  particular  trust? 
that  were  delegated  to  the  Union. 


490       NATURE  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY. 

Notwithstanding  this  imperfect  and  clumsy  organi 
zation  of  their  general  government,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  United  States  were,  even  at  that  early  day, 
essentially  the  same  people.  They  had  the  same 
views  of  policy,  the  same  general  spirit,  substantially 
the  same  origin,*  and  a  community  of  interests  that 
constantly  invited  a  more  intimate  association.  The 
country  was  scarcely  relieved  from  the  pressure  and 
struggle  of  the  war  of  the  revolution,  before  its  wisest 
citizens  began  to  consider  the  means  of  effecting  so 
desirable  an  object.  Peace  was  concluded  in  1783  ; 
and,  m  1787,  a  convention  was  called  to  frame  a 
constitution  for  the  United  States.  The  very  word 
constitution  implies  the  control  of  all  those  interests 
which  distinguish  an  identified  community.  If  we 
speak  with  technical  accuracy,  the  convention  of 
1787  was  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  improving  at 
existing  compact,  rather  than  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  one  entirely  new.  But  it  will  simplify  our 
theory,  and  answer  all  the  desirable  purposes  of  the 
present  object,  if  we  assume  that  the  States  entered 
into  the  bargain  perfectly  unencumbered  by  any  pre 
existing  engagements. 

Under  this  view  of  the  case,  each  State  possessed 
all  the  rights  of  a  distinct  sovereignty,  when  it  sent 
its  delegates  to  the  convention.  There  was  no  power 
which  of  necessity  belongs  to  any  other  government 
of  the  world,  that  each  of  these  States  could  not  of 
itself  exercise,  subject  always  to  the  restrictions  of 
its  own  institutions  and  laws.  But  then,  each  State 
possessed  the  power  of  altering  its  own  institutions 
as  it  saw  fit ;  it  had  its  own  laws,  its  own  tribunals, 
and  it  preserved  its  policy  in  all  things,  except  that, 
in  point  of  fact,  by  the  ancient  confederation,  it  was 

*  A  gross  error  exists  in  Europe,  on  the  subject  of  the  mixed 
character  of  this  people.  The  whole  population  of  Louisiana, 
for  instance,  but  a  little  exceeded  75,000  souls  (blacks  included,; 
in  1810.  It  was  ceded  to  the  Union  in  1804. 


STABILITY  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT.  491 

bound  not  to  enter  into  wars,  and  certain  other  en 
gagements,  with  foreign  nations,  without  the  rest  of 
the  States  being  parties  to  the  transaction. 

The  constitution  of  1787  wrought  a  vital  change 
in  this  system.  The  Americans  now  became  one 
people  in  their  institutions,  as  well  as  in  their  origin 
and  in  their  feelings.  It  is  important  to  remember 
that  the  two  latter  induced  the  former  circumstance, 
and  not  the  former  the  latter. 

You  can  readily  imagine  that  the  principal  point 
to  be  decided  in  a  body  which  had  professedly  as 
sembled  with  such  intentions^  was  that  of  the  continu 
ation  or  annihilation  of  the  State  governments.  There 
were  not  a  few  in  favour  of  the  first  policy,  though 
the  influence  of  those  who  supported  the  authority 
of  the  States  happily  prevailed.  I  say  happily,  since, 
I  think,  it  can  be  made  plain  that  the  existence  of 
the  Union  at  the  present  hour,  no  less  than  its  future 
continuance,  is  entirely  dependent  on  the  existence 
of  the  government  of  the  several  States. 

In  consequence  of  the  policy  that  prevailed,  a 
species  of  mixed  and  complicated  government  was 
established,  which  was  before  unknown  to  the  world, 
but  which  promises  to  prove  that  territory  may  be 
extended  ad  libitum  without  materially  impairing  the 
strength  of  a  country  by  its  extent  It  strikes  me, 
that  as  the  confederation  of  the  United  States  is  the 
most  natural  government  known,  that  it  is  conse 
quently  the  only  empire  on  whose  stability  the  fullest 
confidence  can  be  placed.  It  is  a  superstructure 
regularly  reared  on  a  solid  foundation,  and  not  a 
tower  from  which  a  number  of  heavy  and  ill-balanced 
dependants  are  suspended.  As  to  the  prognostics  of 
its  dissolution,  they  are  founded  on  theories  that  are 
getting  to  be  a  little  obsolete ;  and  the  best  argument 
that  is  urged  to  prove  their  truth,  after  all,  is  merely 
-the  fact  that  the  confederation  of  the  United  States 
iias  not  existed  more  than  the  full  term  of  fifty  years 


492  JURISPRUDENCE  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

during  the  last  half  century.  Perhaps  it  may  console 
these  impatient  reasoners  to  know,  that,  while  the 
records  of  the  country  are  certainly  limited  to  the 
brief  period  named,  so  far  as  improvement,  wealth, 
power,  and  a  general  advancement  are  concerned, 
it  has  every  appearance  of  having  been  in  existence 
two  or  three  centuries. 

In  order  to  effect  the  material  objects  of  the  new 
confederation,  it  became  necessary  that  the  States 
should  part  freely  with  their  power.  The  principle 
was  adopted  that  every  thing  which  was  necessary 
to  the  general  welfare  should  he  yielded  to  the  gen 
eral  government,  while  the  States  should,  of  course, 
retain  all  the  rest  of  their  authority.  But,  with  a  view 
to  give  the  utmost  efficiency  to  the  new  system,  an 
executive,  courts,  and  subordinate  functionaries  were 
created,  who  were  to  act  on  the  people  sometime* 
throughout  oftener  without,  the  intermediate  agency 
of  the  State  authorities.  As  our  present  business  i& 
with  the  courts,  we  will  confine  ourselves  to  that 
branch  of  the  subject. 

Although  the  several  States  preserve  the  outlines 
of  the  judicial  institutions  which  they  inherited  from? 
their  ancestors,  there  are  notT  probably,  two  in  the 
whole  confederation  whose  forms  of  jurisprudence 
are  precisely  the  same.  There  is  necessarily  a  dif 
ference  in  the  policy  of  a  large  State  and  the  policy 
of  a  small  one  ;.  in  that  of  a  large,  new  State  and  that 
of  a  large  old  one  ;  in  that  of  a  State  without  and  m 
that  of  a  State  with  slaves  ;,  in  a  commercial  and  in  a 
purely  agricultural  State ;  and-,  in  short,  in  a  society 
which  exists  under  the  direct  influence  of  certain  in 
terests,  and  in  a  society  which  exists  under  the  in 
fluence  of  certain  others.  You  may  trace  in  this 
power  of  acconiBaodating  their  minute  policy  to  their 
own  particular  condition,  and,  what  is  probably  quite 
as  important,  to  their  own  pleasure,  one  of  thegreai 
reasons  for  true  durability  of  the  Union.. 


REFORMATION  IN  LAW.  493 

Had  T  the  necessary  knowledge  to  impart  it,  you 
would  not  possess  the  patience  to  read  a  detailed 
account  of  the  shades  of  difference  which  exist  in  the 
jurisprudence  of  twenty-four  separate  communities. 
I  shall  therefore  take  the  outline  of  that  of  New- York, 
the  most  populous  of  the  States,  and  point  out  its  con 
nexion  with  that  of  the  Union.  It  will  be  sufficiently 
exact  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  whole. 

The  foundation  of  the  laws  of  New- York,  is  the 
common  law  of  England.  Some  of  the  provisions  of 
this  law,  and  a  few  of  its  principles,  have  been  de 
stroyed  by  the  constitution  of  the  State,  which,  of 
course,  has  substituted  the  maxims  of  a  republic  for 
those  of  a  monarchy.  Statute  law  has  changed,  and 
is  daily  changing  certain  other  decrees  of  the  com 
mon  law,  which  are  found  to  be  inapplicable  to  the 
peculiar  state  of  this  society.  I  know  no  better  evi 
dence  of  the  boldness  and  usefulness  of  reform,  as  it 
exists  in  this  country,  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  early 
changes  they  made  in  the  common  law.  It  is  now 
near  half  a  century  since  they  destroyed  the  right  of 
entail,  the  trial  by  battle,  the  detestable  and  unnatural 
law  of  the  half-blood,  and  a  variety  of  other  similar 
usages  that  are  just  beginning  to  become  obnoxious 
to  European  censure.  The  Americans  themselves 
say  that  New- York  has  still  a  great  deal  to  do,  and 
daily  complaints  are  heard  against  impediments  to 
justice,  which  are  to  be  traced  to  the  usages  of  a 
comparatively  dark  age.* 

The  lowest  tribunal  known  to  the  laws,  is  what  is 

*  There  are  people  who  may  find  it  curious  to  know,  that  the 
advancement  of  public  opinion,  and  the  consequent  security 
of  liberty,  is  making  bold  inroads  on  those  practices  which  are 
known  to  have  given  birth  to  political  rights.  In  the  State  of 
Louisiana,  and,  the  writer  believes,  in  one  or  two  others,  the 
use  of  a  jury  is  dispensed  with,  in  all  civil  cases,  in  which  it  is 
not  demanded  by  one  of  the  parties.  It  is  said  that  more  than 
five-sixths  of  the  civil  actions  are  tried  by  the  court.  Still  the 
right  of  a  trial  by  jury  is  guarantied  by  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

Uu 


494  .  STATE  COURTS,  ETC. 

called  a  justices'  court,  or  the  suits  before  a  justice 
of  the  peace.  In  each  county  there  is  also  a  regular 
court  for  the  trial  of  criminal  causes,  and  for  the 
common  pleas  of  that  county.  The  presiding  officers 
of  these  courts  are  termed  judges ;  they  are  commonly 
five  in  number,  and  are  sometimes  aided  by  what  are 
called  assistant  justices.  In  the  older  counties  these 
judges  are  usually  men  of  education,  and  always  men 
of  character.  They  are  frequently  lawyers,  who  con 
tinue  to  practise  in  the  higher  courts,  and  they  are 
often  men  of  landed  estate,  yeomen  of  good  charac 
ters  and  influence,  and  sometimes  merchants.  Their 
criminal  duties  are  not  unlike  those  of  the  quarter 
sessions  in  England.  Executions  in  civil  actions  is 
sued  out  of  this  court,  take  effect  on  all  property 
found  within  the  limits  of  the  county,  and  judgments 
are  liens  on  real  estate,  according  to  priority  of  date, 
without  reference  to  the  courts  where  any  other  sim 
ilar  claims  may  be  recorded. 

The  State  is  next  subdivided  into  judicial  circuits. 
For  each  of  these  circuits  there  is  one  judge.  This 
officer  presides  at  the  circuit  courts,  assisted  by  the 
judges  of  the  county ;  and  as  the  judgments  obtained 
under  verdicts  in  this  court  are  perfected  before  the 
supreme  court  of  the  State,  they  have  a  lien  on  all 
property  belonging  to  the  party  concerned  within  the 
bounds  of  the  State.  Both  of  these  courts  take  cogni 
zance  of  crimes. 

The  supreme  court  (of  the  State  of  New-York)  is 
composed  of  three  judges.  They  constitute  a  court 
of  law,  to  which  appeals  are  made  from  the  inferior 
tribunals.  The  judges  do  not  regularly  preside  at  any 
of  the  circuits,  though  it  is  within  the  scope  of  their 
powers  to  do  so  if  they  please.*  They  settle  all  causes, 

*  There  has  been  a  recent  change  in  the  courts  of  New- 
fork.  A  few  years  since  there  were  five  judges  of  the  su 
preme  court,  and  they  tried  all  causes  at  Nisi  Prius,  holding 
the  circuits  in  person.  It  was  found  that  the  business  accu- 


STATE    COURTS,    ETC.  495 

and  the  reports  of  their  proceedings  form  the  ordina 
ry  books  of  precedents. 

There  is  a  chancellor  who  hears  and  decides  in 
all  cases  where  equity  is  claimed,  and  who  exercises 
the  usual  authority  in  granting  injunctions  against  the 
consummation  of  proceedings  at  law.  In  many  of  the 
States,  the  equitable  power  is  lodged  in  the  same 
courts  as  the  legal,  the  judges  hearing  causes  on  what 
is  termed  the  equity  side.  The  chancellor  of  the 
State  is  purely  a  law  officer,  exercising  no  other  func 
tions,  and  holding  his  commission  by  the  same  ten 
ures  as  the  judges.  In  one  or  two  of  the  States, 
however,  the  governor  acts  as  chancellor. 

The  Senate  of  the  State,  (of  New-York,)  assisted 
by  the  chancellor  and  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
form  a  tribunal  for  appeals,  and  for  the  correction  of 
errors  in  the  last  resort.  Their  decision  is  final,  un 
less  the  defendant  should  happen  to  be  a  foreigner, 
or  a  citizen  of  another  State,  in  which  case  the  cause 
can  be  carried  into  the  courts  of  the  United  States* 
under  certain  circumstances.  This  court  is  not  known 
to  many  of  the  States. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  a  State,  embraces 
most  of  the  ordinary  interests  of  life.  Nearly  all  of 
fences  against  persons  and  things,  whether  considered 
in  reference  to  the  protection  of  the  individual,  or  in 

mulated,  and,  in  order  to  repair  the  evil,  the  circuit  judges 
were  appointed  ;  those  of  the  supreme  court  were  reduced  in 
number,  and  the  common  duties  of  the  latter  were  limited  to 
the  terms.  The  better  opinion  in  the  State  is,  that  this  de 
parture  from  a  practice  which  has  been  sanctioned  by  so  many 
centuries  is  not  successful.  A  return  to  the  former  system  ia 
already  contemplated,  with  an  increase  of  the  judges,  that  shall 
make  their  whole  number  equal  to  the  labour  they  have  to  un 
dergo. 

*  The  plaintiff,  being  an  alien,  or  a  citizen  of  another  State, 
can  do  the  same  thing  in  the  first  stages  of  the  suit.  But  it  ia 
impossible  to  be  minute  in  a  work  like  this  ;  the  writer  merely 
aims  at  giving  a  general  idea  of  the  system  of  the  jurisprudence 
of  the  United  States. 


496  COURTS    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

reference  to  the  dignity  and  security  of  society,  can 
be  tried  before  some  one  of  the  tribunals  mentioned. 
In  many  cases  the  tribunals  have  concurrent  power, 
those  of  the  United  States  always  being  supreme, 
when  they  have  a  right  to  interfere  at  all. 

The  lowest  tribunal  established  by  the  United 
States  is  that  of  the  district  courts.  The  rule  is  to 
make  each  State  a  district  for  the  trial  of  causes  un 
der  the  laws  of  the  Union,  though  some  of  the  larger 
States  are  divided  into  two.  Each  of  these  courts 
has  its  particular  judge,  its  recording,  and  its  execu 
tive  officers.  The  latter  are  called  marshals ;  they 
exercise  all  the  ordinary  duties  of  an  English  sheriff.* 
Original  causes  are  tried  before  the  district  judge.  If 
A.  should  fail  in  the  conditions  of  an  ordinary  con 
tract  made  with  B.,  the  latter  would  bring  his  suit  in 
the  county  in  which  the  former  resided,  or  in  the  su 
preme  court  of  the  State,  as  he  might  please ;  but  if 
the  contract  had  direct  reference  to  matter  which  is 
exclusively  controlled  by  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  he  would  probably  bring  his  action  in  the  cir 
cuit  court  of  the  State  in  which  the  defendant  lived. 
In  matters  that  arise  from  seizures  under  the  cus 
toms,  or  that  affect  any  other  of  the  direct  interests 
of  the  United  States,  the  District  Court  is  always 
competent  to  proceed.  If  process  issues  on  execu 
tion  from  the  courts  of  the  State,  it  is  to  the  sheriff; 
but  from  the  United  States'  courts  it  is  directed  to 
the  marshal.  The  same  distinction  is  observed  for 
the  execution  of  sentences  under  the  respective  crimi 
nal  laws  of  the  two  authorities.  Thus,  it  would  be 
possible,  as  in  the  cases  of  an  ordinary  murder  and 
of  piracy,  for  two  convicts  to  issue  from  the  same 
gaol,  and  to  go  to  the  same  gallows,  though  the  one 
should  be  hanged  under  the  orders  of  a  sheriff,  and 
the  other  under  the  orders  of  a  marshal.  Though 

*  Each  county  has  a  sheriff  under  the  laws  of  the  State. 


COURTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.      497 

there  are  no  points  of  collision,  in  matters  of  mere 
dignity,  the  marshal  is  a  man  of  more  importance  than 
a  sheriff,  inasmuch  as  his  bailiwick  embraces  a  whole 
State  instead  of  a  county ;  and  he  executes  the  su 
preme  law  of  the  land,  though,  in  fact,  his  functions 
are  often  limited  to  a  course  of  concurrent,  or  rather 
to  a  division  of  familiar  powers.* 

Each  State  also  forms  a  district  for  the  circuit 
courts  of  the  United  States.  At  the  circuit,  a  judge 
of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  presides, 
assisted  by  the  judge  of  the  district.  They  hear 
original  cases,  and  such  appeals  as,  by  law,  can  be 
brought  from  the  tribunals  of  the  State.  It  frequently 
happens,  that  actions  affecting  parties  residing  in  dif 
ferent  States,  are  brought  in  the  courts  of  a  particular 
State,  because  the  property  in  dispute  lies  there,  and 
the  defendant  then  carries  his  appeal  to  one  of  the 
circuit  courts  of  the  United  States.  You  will  see 
that,  of  necessity,  the  laws  of  the  several  States  must 
be  known  to  the  judges  of  these  circuits,  as  a  great 
deal  of  their  power  goes  no  further  than  to  take  care 
that  these  laws  shall  not  infringe  on  the  rights  which 
are  guarantied  by  the  confederation. 

The  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States  sit  once  a  year,  to  hear  appeals  and  questions 
of  law.  They  have  all  the  equity  powers  which  are 
necessarily  incident  to  justice,  there  being  no  chan 
cellor  of  the  United  States.  Their  decisions  are  final, 
no  appeal  lying  to  any  other  body  of  the  land.  This 
dignified  and  powerful  tribunal  not  only  decides  on 
the  interests  of  individuals,  but  on  the  interests  of 

*  The  United  States  have,  as  yet,  no  gaols.  There  is  such 
perfect  understanding  between  the  two  "authorities,  that  the 
States  lend  their  gaols,  court-rooms,  &c.  to  the  officers  of 
the  United  States,  though  it  is  probable  that,  ere- long,  provision 
will  be  made  for  both.  A  convict,  sentenced  to  hard  labour  by 
a  court  of  the  United  States,  is  sent  to  the  Penitentiary  of  the 
State  where  he  is  convicted,  the  former  defraying  any  excess 
of  expense  over  the  fruits  of  his  earnings. 
Uu  2 


498       SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE   UMTED  STATES. 

States.  Communities  that  are,  even  now,  larger  than 
the  smallest  kingdoms  of  Europe,  can  come  before 
them,  in  their  corporate  capacity,  as  suitors  and  de 
fendants. 

The  affairs  of  this  immensely  important  tribunal, 
have  ever  been  conducted  with  surprising  dignity  and 
moderation.  The  judges  are  amenable  to  public 
opinion,  the  severest  punishment  and  the  tightest 
check  in  a  free  community,  and  their  corruption  can 
be  punished  by  impeachment.  An  instance  of  the 
latter  occurred  during  high  party  times,  and  while  the 
doctrines  of  Europe  were  more  in  fashion  than  they 
are  at  present,  but  the  accused  was  not  found  guilty. 

The  duties  of  the  supreme  court  are  often  of  a 
highly  delicate  nature,  but  the  judges  have  contrived 
to  create  a  great  degree  of  reverence  for,  and  of 
confidence  in,  their  decisions.  As  the  population  of 
the  country  increases,  the  number  of  the  judges  will 
be  increased  to  meet  its  wants.* 

You  know  that  steam  was  first  successfully  applied 
to  boats  in  America.  The  celebrated  Fulton  obtained 
a  law  (in  the  State  of  New-York)  creating  a  mono 
poly  of  its  use  in  his  favour  for  a  term  of  years.  At 
first,  the  experiment  was  deemed  so  hazardous,  that 
he  enjoyed  this  exclusive  right  without  molestation. 
But,  when  the  immense  profits  of  the  speculation 
became  apparent,  men  began  to  question  the  legality 
of  the  monopoly.  Boats  were  built  without  the  con 
sent  of  the  assignees  of  Fulton.  The  chancellor  of 
the  State  of  New- York,  regarding  the  act  of  his  own 
legislature,  granted  an  injunction,  prohibiting  their 
use.  The  parties  then  joined  issue,  and  the  case 
was  carried  through  the  courts  of  the  State,  until  it 
reached  the  Court  of  Errors,  where  it  was  decided  in 
favour  of  the  law  of  the  State.  New  parties  appealed 
to  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States,  as  citizens 

*  It  has  recently  been  raised  to  nine. 


AN    IMPORTANT    DECISION.  499 

of  another  State,  and  as  citizens  claiming  the  protec 
tion  of  the  laws  of  the  confederacy.  It  was  contended 
that  the  law  of  New-York  was  unconstitutional,  in 
asmuch  as  the  States  had  conceded  the  right  to  pro 
tect  inventions,  &c.  &c.  to  the  general  government, 
and  that  no  State  had  a  right  to  grant  a  monopoly  on 
waters,  that  might  interfere  with  the  commerce  of 
the  whole  country.  So  the  supreme  court  decided, 
and,  since  that  decision,  there  has  been  an  end  of 
the  monopoly.  Many  of  the  States  have  enacted 
laws,  of  different  natures,  that  have  always  been 
treated  with  great  reflection  and  candour,  but  which 
have  been  as  effectually  destroyed  by  this  court. 

In  respect  of  mere  dignity,  the  judges  of  the  su 
preme  court  of  the  United  States  stand  foremost  over 
all  others.  A  judge  of  the  district  court  is,  as  a  rule, 
perhaps,  about  equal  to  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court 
of  a  State,  though  these  parallels  are  entirely  arbi 
trary.  In  point  of  variety  of  power,  the  judges  of 
the  States  have  much  the  most ;  but,  in  point  of  im 
portance,  those  of  the  United  States  are  the  greatest, 
since  appeals  can  be  made  to,  but  not  from,  them. 

You  can  easily  imagine  that  numberless  questions 
of  jurisdiction  between  the  courts  of  the  confedera 
tion  and  those  of  the  States,  still  remain  to  be  decid 
ed.  Although  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  when 
constitutional,  are  called  supreme,  yet  there  are 
points  where  the  two  authorities  must  of  necessity 
meet.  To  take  a  strong  case,  the  life  of  the  citizen  is, 
in  most  instances,  to  be  protected  by  the  laws  of  the 
State ;  but  it  is  possible  to  conceive  a  case  in  which 
gome  of  the  rights  that  are  fairly  enough  incidental 
to  the  discharge  of  the  powers  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  might  impair  the  force  of  a  State  law  for  the 
protection  of  the  life  of  its  citizen.  In  such  a  case 
reason  must  decide  the  limits  of  the  two  authorities, 
as  it  has  had  to  decide  the  limits  of  concurrent  au 
thorities  elsewhere.  It  would  be  folly  to  say  always 


500  THE    LAW    OF    REASON. 

that-  the  United  States  law  being  paramount,  should 
prevail.  Tn  fact,  in  such  questions,  it  is  not  supreme, 
even  in  theory ;  for  the  States,  having  reserved  to 
themselves  all  the  power  they  have  not  expressly 
yielded  to  the  United  States,  have  clearly  the  same 
claim  to  the  rights  incidental  to  the  powers  reserved, 
as  the  United  States  possess  to  the  rights  incidental 
to  the  powers  which  have  been  conceded.  The 
courts  of  the  States  (which  are  bound  to  know  and 
respect  the  authority  of  the  United  States)  might 
have  a  natural  leaning  to  extend  these  incidental 
powers,  and  it  is  in  fixing  their  limits  that  the.  su 
preme  court  of  the  United  States,  which  is  placed 
above  all  petty  and  local  interests,  exhibits  most  of 
is  usefulness  and  majesty. 

A  species  of  natural  law  is  growing  up  under  this 
system,  that  promises  to  be  eminently  useful,  inas 
much  as  it  is  adapted  to  actual  necessity.  I  am  a 
great  venerator  of  those  laws  which  are  enacted  by 
custom,  since  I  entertain  the  opinion  that  the  stamp 
of  usage  is  worth  a  dozen  legislative  seals,  especially 
in  a  community  where  men,  being  as  free  as  possible, 
have  every  opportunity  of  consulting  the  useful. 

The  States  have  conceded  all  power  to  Congress 
to  regulate  commerce.  Now,  Congress  has  jurisdic 
tion  over  more  than  twenty  degrees  of  latitude.  It 
has  not,  however,  yet  seen  fit  to  establish  quarantine 
regulations  for  the  numerous  ports  within  its  jurisdic 
tion,  though  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  imagine  any 
measure  which  more  intimately  affects  commerce 
than  these  laws.  But  the  States  do  continue  to  pass 
quarantine  laws,  under  their  natural  right  to  protect 
the  lives  of  their  citizens.  Should  any  State,  under 
this  plea,  attempt  to  pass  such  laws,  however,  as 
would  operate  unjustly  towards  another  State,  the 
court  of  the  United  States  might  then  pronounce  a 
decision  affecting  the  question.  There  is  as  yet  a 
divided  opinion,  in  theory,  on  the  subject  of  -this 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  COURTS.      501 

right,  while  the  practice  is  just  what  it  ought  to  be ; 
that  is  to  say,  those  who  are  most  familiar  with  the 
subject  provide  for  its  wants,  and  should  any  abuses 
arise,  there  is  a  power  in  the  country  competent  to 
put  them  down. 

As  its  institutions  get  matured  by  time,  the  power 
of  the  confederation  is  every  day  receiving  strength. 
A  vast  deal  of  constitutional  law,  however,  remains 
to  be  decided  ;  but  as  new  cases  arise,  the  ability  to 
make  discreet  decisions,  grows  with  experience. 
Laws  are  enacted  to  meet  the  regulations  necessary 
to  the  common  good,  and  as  the  legislators  are  them 
selves  citizens  of  the  States  to  be  governed,  and  one 
body  of  them  (the  Senate)  are  the  legal  protectors  of 
their  corporate  rights,  there  is  little  fear  that  the 
general  government  will  ever  reach  that  point  of  au 
thority  that  shall  make  it  weak,  by  setting  it  up  in 
opposition  to  a  force  that  it  would  vainly  strive  to 
subdue.  It  may  appear  paradoxical,  but  the  secret 
of  the  actual  durability  of  this  confederation  consists 
in  its  apparent  weakness.  So  long  as  the  influence 
of  the  several  States  shall  be  of  sufficient  importance 
to  satisfy  their  jealousy,  I  think  it  will  endure ;  and 
so  long  as  the  present  representative  system  shall 
prevail,  there  is  every  motive  to  believe  the  States 
will  possess,  with  a  reasonable  portion  of  the  power, 
a  share  in  all  the  honour,  and  the  profit,  and  the  secu 
rity  of  being  members  of  an  Union  that  must  shortly 
stand  foremost  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

The  true  balance  of  power,  which  elsewhere  is 
found  to  exist  in  the  hands  of  individuals,  exists  here 
in  the  hands  of  legislative  bodies,  who  are  the  direct 
representatives  of  those  whose  interests  are  controlled 
by  the  government. 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 

Sec.  Sec. 


Washington; 


A  GREAT  event  has  just  been  decided  in  this  city. 
The  ceremony  of  the  election  of  a  President  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  four  years  which  shall  com 
mence  on  the  fourth  day  of  March  next,  took  place 
yesterday.  The  circumstances  which  led  to  the  pe 
culiar  forms  of  this  choice,  the  characters  of  the  can 
didates,  and  the  probable  result  that  it  will  have  on 
the  policy  of  the  country,  may  not  be  without  interest 
to  one  who  studies  mankind  as  generally  as  yourself. 

The  first  President,  you  know,  was  Washington. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  Vice-President,  the  elder 
Adams.*  At  the  end  of  four  year's,  a  hot  contest  oc 
curred  between  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Jefferson,  the 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  day,  for  the 
chair.  In  order  to  give  you  a  proper  understanding 
of  the  case,  it  will  be  necessary  to  explain  the  law 
for  the  election  to  this  high  office. 

You  know  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  is 
represented  by  the  Senate.  Thus,  Rhode  Island, 
with  70,000  inhabitants,  has  two  members  in  the 
Senate,  as  well  as  New-York  with  1 ,700,000.  But 
the  members  of  the  lower  house,  which  is  the  con 
necting  link  between  the  States,  are  apportioned 

*  An  absurd  story  is  told  by  a  recent  traveller,  or  a  pretend 
ed  traveller,  in  the  United  States,  concerning  the  wish  of  Mr. 
Adams,  when  Vice-President,  to  have  the  title  of  "  Highness, 
and  Protector  of  our  Liberties,"  given  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  said  he  introduced  a  resolution  to  that 
effect  in  the  Senate.  Now,  it  happens,  independently  of  the 
gross  folly  of  the  title,  that  the  Vice-President,  who  is  merely  a 
presiding  officer,  has  no  right  to  introduce  any  law  or  resolution 
into  the  "Senate  at  all. 


ELECTION    OF    PRESIDENT.  503 

according  to  the  population.  The  State  of  Rhode 
Island  has,  therefore,  two  Representatives,  and  the 
State  of  New-York  thirty-four.  In  all  ordinary 
cases  of  legislation,  each  individual,  whether  a  Sen 
ator  or  a  Representative,  gives  one  vote.  While 
New-York  has,  consequently,  eighteen  times  more 
influence  in  the  lower  house  than  Rhode  Island,  in 
the  upper  house  they  are  equal.  It  is  in  this  division 
of  power  that  another  system  of  the  checks  and  bal 
ances  of  this  government  is  to  be  traced. 

For  the  election  of  the  President,  bodies  are  es 
pecially  convened  that  are  at  other  times  unknown 
to  the  constitution.  They  are  called  electoral  col 
leges,  of  which  there  are  as  many  as  there  are  States. 
These  colleges  are  composed  of  citizens  chosen  in 
each  State,  in  such  a  manner  as  its  own  laws  may 
prescribe.  They  are  sometimes  elected  by  the  legis 
latures,  sometimes  in  districts  by  the  people,  and 
sometimes  again  by  the  people  in  what  is  called  a 
general  ticket;  that  is  to  say,  every  citizen  votes  for 
the  whole  of  the  electors  that  his  State  is  entitled  to 
choose.  The  number  is  determined  by  the  popula 
tion  of  the  State.  The  number  of  Representatives 
is  added  to  the  two  Senators,  and  the  amount  forms 
the  body  of  the  electors.  Thus  New-York,  having 
thirty-four  Representatives  and  two  Senators,  chooses 
thirty-six  electors ;  while  Rhode  Island,  having  but 
two  of  each  class,  is  limited  to  four  electors. 

Within  a  certain  number  of  days  after  their  own 
election,  the  electors  of  each  State  meet  at  some  in 
dicated  place,  and  form  the  several  colleges.  The 
time  is  fixed  at  so  short  a  period  as  to  prevent,  as 
much  as  possible,  the  danger  of  corruption.  There 
is  undoubtedly  a  preconcert  between  parties,  and  an 
understanding  in  the  way  of  pledges;  but  there  can 
not  well  be  any  direct  bribery  on  the  part  of  power 
ful  individuals.  Each  elector  gives  one  vote  for 
President,  and  another  for  Vice-President.  As  the 


504  FORMS    OF    ELECTION. 

constitution  formerly  stood,  the  citizen  who  received 
the  greatest  number  of  votes,  provided  they  made 
more  than  half  of  the  whole  number,  was  chosen 
for  the  former  office,  and  the  citizen  who  received  the 
next  greatest  number,  under  the  same  provision,  was 
chosen  for  the  latter  office.  The  constitution  has, 
however,  been  changed,  so  as  to  make  it  necessary 
that  each  vote  should  express  for  which  officer  it  is 
given.  These  votes  are  counted  in  the  presence  of 
the  college,  and  of  any  body  else  who  may  choose  to 
attend,  and  the  result  is  properly  authenticated  and 
sent  to  the  Department  of  State;  the  President  of  the 
Senate  opens  and  compares  the  returns  in  the  pres 
ence  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  after  which  the 
result  is  officially  announced  to  the  country.  But  as 
the  votes  of  each  State  are  known  the  day  they  are 
actually  given,  the  public  press  uniformly  anticipat ,. 
the  public  documents  by  several  weeks.  If  there 
should  be  no  election,  the  final  choice  is  referred  to 
Congress. 

In  1801,  the  contest  between  Mr.  Adams  and  Mi 
Jefferson  had  a  singular  termination.  Mr.  Pinckney, 
of  South  Carolina,  was  the  candidate  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency,  supported  by  the  friends  of  the  former ; 
and  Mr.  Burr,  of  New-York,  the  candidate  supported 
by  the  friends  of  the  latter.  Adams  was  the  head  of 
what  was  called  the  federal  party,  and  Jefferson  the 
head  of  the  democrats.*  The  election  of  1801  was 

*  A  singular  mistake  is  prevalent  in  Europe,  concerning  the 
origin  and  objects  of  the  two  great  political  parties,  which,  fof 
twenty  years,  nearly  equally  divided  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  often  asserted,  and  sometimes  believed,  that  the 
federalists  were  the  secret  friends  of  a  monarchy,  and  that  the 
democrats  were,  what  their  name  would  imply,  the  only  friends 
of  the  people.  The  gross  absurdity  of  this  belief  is  completely 
exposed,  by  the  fact,  that  a  great  majority  of  the  people  of 
New-England  and  of  New-York  were,  for  a  long  time,  feder 
alists;  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  that  the  mass  of  communi 
ties,  so  completely  republican  in  practice,  should  entertain  a 
secret  wish  to  overthrow  institutions  which  they  had  been  the 


DEMOCRATS  AND  FEDERALISTS.        505 

the  first  triumph  of  the  democrats.  Mr.  Adams  and 
Mr.  Pinckney  were  both  handsomely  defeated ;  buv, 
by  an  oversight  of  the  electors,  Jefferson  and  Bun 
received  the  same  number  of  votes  in  the  colleges. 

first  to  form,  and  which  were  so  completely  confirmed  by  long 
habit.  Washington  was,  undoubtedly,  a  federalist,  as,  indeed, 
were  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  ancient  officers  and  patriots 
of  the  revolution.  But  this  party  was  more  lukewarm  in  the 
cause  of  the  French  revolution,  than  the  other,  and  its  members 
were  the  advocates  of  a  rather  stronger  government  than  the 
democrats.  It  is  also  true,  that,  as  some  of  its  leaders  acknow 
ledged  more  of  the  maxims  of  the  ancient  monarchy  than  their 
opponents,  all  those  who  had  a  bias  in  favour  of  the  mother 
country  joined  their  ranks,  and  served  to  keep  alive  an  impres 
sion  which  their  enemies,  of  course,  industriously  circulated, 
that  the  party  leaned  to  aristocracy.  It  was  easy  to  raise  this 
cry,  both  for  the  reasons  named,  and  because  a  large  proportion 
of  the  men  of  wealth  in  the  middle  and  eastern  States,  were 
enrolled  in  its  ranks.  But  there  can  be  no  greater  absurdity 
than  to  suppose,  that  any  party  has  existed  in  America,  since 
the  revolution,  with  an  intention  of  destroying,  or,  indeed,  with 
the  intention  of  seriously  modifying,  the  present  form  of  govern 
ment.  When  the  constitution  was  formed,  and  before  all  its 
principles  were  settled  by  practice,  it  was  to  be  expected  that 
men  should  differ  on  the  subject  of  the  degree  of  change  that  was 
prudent ;  but,  as  early  as  the  year  1800,  the  federalists  and  the 
democrats  were,  essentially,  nothing  more  than  two  great  par 
ties,  struggling  for  place,  and  who  adopted  different  politics 
about  as  much  for  the  purpose  of  opposition  as  for  any  other 
reason.  This  got  to  be  eminently  the  case  a  few  years  later, 
when  the  federal  party  grew  desperate  in  the  minority,  and  lost 
sight  of  character  altogether,  in  the  conduct  it  pursued  on  the 
subject  of  the  war  with  England.  Some  of  the  eastern  poli 
ticians,  during  that  war,  believing  the  moment  favourable  to 
a  final  effort,  concerted  a  plan,  by  which  the  whole  of  the  east 
ern,  and  some  of  the  middle  States  were  to  unite  in  an  attack 
on  the  policy  of  the  general  government,  the  result  of  which 
was  to  be  the  expulsion  of  the  administration.  This  plan  gave 
rise  to  the  famous  Hartford  Convention.  The  opponents  of  the 
Hartford  Convention  accused  its  founders  of  a  design  to  divide 
the  Union.  It  is  difficult  to  say  what  crude  projects  may  have 
floated  in  the  heated  brains  of  individuals  of  that  body,  but  this 
is  a  country  in  which  individuals  do  less  than  elsewhere,  es 
pecially  in  matters  of  great  moment.  The  New-England  States 
themselves  would  never  have  encouraged  a  scheme  so  destruc 
tive  to  their  own  interests ;  but,  had  they  entertained  the  wish, 
it  would  have  been  a  mad  policy  without  the  connivance  of 
New- York,  a  State  that  was  then,  and  has  been  since,  daily 
Xx 


506  CHOICE    OF    CONGRESS. 

This  left  the  question  of  the  presidency  to  be  still 
decided,  as  the  constitution  then  prescribed  that  the 
choice  should  be  in  favour  of  the  candidate  who  had 
the  greatest  number  of  votes,  provided  always  that  he 
had  a  majority  of  the  whole  number. 

The  choice  of  a  President,  by  the  provisions  of  the 
constitution,  now  devolved  on  Congress.  In  the 
event  of  a  referred  election,  the  Senators  have  no 
voices,  the  Representatives  of  each  State  in  the  lowei 
house  giving  but  one  vote ;  so  that  the  final  decision 
is  made  by  the  States,  and  not  by  the  people.  In 
1810,  there  were  sixteen  States  in  the  confederation. 
By  a  singular  coincidence,  two  of  these  States  had  a 
tie  in  themselves ;  so  that  they  defeated  their  own 
votes ;  and  of  the  remainder,  eight  gave  their  votes 

draining  them  of  their  population,  and  which  already  numbers 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  many  souls  as  all  New-England  united. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  great  body  of  the  federalists  of  New- 
York  refused  to  join  the  convention,  even  with  a  view  to  remon 
strate,  at  the  time  when  the  country  was  engaged  single-handed 
against  England.  The  best  evidence  of  what  would  have  been 
the  fate  of  an  attempt  to  separate  the  Union,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  the  people  of  New-England  themselves  treat  with 
great  coldness,  the  principal  members  of  the  Hartford  Conven 
tion,  although  most  men  acquit  them  of  entertaining  so  mad  a 
scheme.  But  the  federal  party  was  destroyed  by  the  policy  it 
pursued  in  the  war.  The  Hartford  Convention  was  its  dying 
effort,  and  its  last  moments  were  as  impotent  as  those  of  any 
other  worn-out  nature.  The  older  members  of  the  party  some 
times  act  together,  now,  from  habit  and  intimacy,  but  the  gen 
eration  that  "is  just  appearing  on  the  stage,  already  read  of  the 
party  struggles  in  which  their  fathers  were  engaged  as  matters 
of  history.  There  is  no  such  party  known  in  the  United  States, 
as  a  party  unfriendly  to  their  institutions,  though,  doubtless, 
there  are  still  a  few  men  living  who  retain  some  of  their  ancient 
attachment  for  the  sort  of  government  under  which  they  were 
born.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  children  of  these  men 
are  almost  always  decided  democrats,  and  in  many  instances, 
the  complete  success  of  the  confederative  system  has  overcome 
the  prejudices  of  old  and  bigoted  tories.  It  must  be  remem 
bered,  also,  that  though  a  majority  of  the  people  of  Massachu 
setts,  Connecticut,  &c.  were  willing  to  try  the  experiment 
of  the  Hartford  Convention,  there  were  powerful  minorities  in 
every  State  concerned,  without  counting  the  influence  of  all 
the  rest  of  the  Union. 


OBSTINATE    VOTING.  507 

for  Mr.  Jefferson  and  six  for  Mr.  Burr.  You  should 
be  told  that  the  same  law  which  referred  this  ques 
tion  to  Congress  requires  that  the  successful  candidate 
should  have  a  majority  of  all  the  States.  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  therefore,  required  nine  votes  for  success,  which 
was  the  numbec  necessary  to  make  a  majority  of 
sixteen. 

The  members  of  Congress  voted  thirty-five  times 
on  this  interesting  question,  and  always  with  the  same 
result.  At  length,  a  member  or  two  belonging  to  the 
States  which  had  lost  their  votes  by  a  tie,  changed 
their  minds,  and  gave  their  voices  for  Jefferson.  This 
decided  the  matter,  and  placed  that  distinguished 
statesman  in  the  chair  for  the  next  four  years.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  regular  period  of  service,  he 
was  re-elected ;  but,  imitating  the  example  of  Wash 
ington,  he  retired  at  the  end  of  his  second  term. 

Until  now  the  Vice-President  had  been  the  succes 
sor  of  the  President :  but  although  Mr.  Burr,  having 
the  next  greatest  number  of  votes,  was  necessarily 
Vice-President  for  the  first  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  terms 
of  office,  he  was  superseded  at  the  second  election. 
The  constitution  had  been  altered  so  as  to  stand  as 
at  present,  making  it  necessary  to  indicate  the  situa 
tion  it  is  intended  the  candidate  shall  fill.  A  veteran 
of  the  revolution,  but  a  man  past  the  expectation  of 
further  preferment,  had  been  selected  to  supply  the 
place  of  Mr.  Burr.  The  friends  of  the  administration 
now  turned  their  eyes  on  the  Secretary  of  State,  as 
a  successor  to  the  President  of  the  day.  This  gen 
tleman  (Mr.  Madison)  was  elected,  and  a  sort  of 
change  in  the  descent  of  power  was  effected.  After 
a  service  of  two  terms,  Mr.  Madison  also  retired^  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  time  being  (Mr.  Monroe)  became 
the  successful  candidate.  The  second  term  of  this 
gentleman's  service  is  now  near  its  close,  and  he  re 
tires  too,  as  a  matter  of  course.  You  are  not  to  sup 
pose  that  the  constitution  prescribes  any  other  limits 


508  MR.    QUINCY    ADAMS. 

to  the  presidency  of  an  individual,  but  that  of  a  new 
election  every  four  years  ;  but  the  example  of  Wash 
ington,  and,  perhaps,  the  period  of  life  to  which  all 
the  Presidents  have  attained,  after  filling  the  chair  for 
two  terms,  have  induced  them,  in  succession,  to  de 
cline  elections  for  a  third. 

On  the  present  occasion,  an  entirely  new  state  of 
politics  presents  itself.  The  old  party  distinctions 
of  federalists  and  democrats  are  broken  down,  and 
the  country  is  no  longer  divided  into  two  great  polit 
ical  factions.  Mr.  Adams,  the  Secretary  of  State  (and 
a  son  of  the  second  President,)  is  considered  by  a 
great  number  of  people  as  the  natural  and  the  best 
successor  to  Colonel  Monroe.  When  I  say  natural, 
you  must  confine  the  meaning  of  the  word  to  a  natu 
ral  expediency,  and  not  to  any  natural  right.  His 
claims  consist  of  a  long  experience  in  the  politics  of 
the  country,  great  familiarity  with  foreign  diplomacy, 
and  the  intimate  connexion  that  he  has  so  long  had 
with  the  particular  measures  of  the  existing  adminis 
tration.  He  is  a  man  of  extensive  acquirements,  great 
honesty,  and  unquestionable  patriotism.  He  is  also 
a  northern,  or,  as  it  would  be  expressed  here,  an 
eastern  man  (coming  from  New-England ;)  and  hith 
erto  Virginia  has  given  four  out  of  the  five  Presidents. 
But  the  circumstance  of  birth-place  has  far  less  influ 
ence  than  you  would  suppose  in  a  government  like 
this.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  while  Europeans 
are  constantly  predicting  sectional  divisions  in  this 
country,  the  people  of  the  country  themselves  ap 
pear  to  think  very  little  about  them.  Mr.  Adams 
has  both  a  warm  support  and  a  warm  opposition  in 
the  northern  States,  it  being  evident  that  men  follow 
the  bent  of  their  humours  or  judgments,  without 
thinking  much  on  the  question  of  north  and  south. 
It  is  an  important  circumstance,  which  always  should 
be  remembered  in  considering  this  subject,  that  though 
the  south  has,  in  consequence  of  its  physical  inferiority 


MR.  CRAWFORD.  509 

and  peculiar  situation,  a  jealous  watchfulness  of  the 
north,  that  the  north  regards  the  south  with  no  such 
feelings.  It  is  clear  that  the  sentiment  must  be  active 
enough  in  both  to  induce  men  to  overlook  their  inter 
ests,  before  it  can  produce  any  important  changes, 

Mr.  Crawford,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was 
another  candidate  for  the  Presidency;  Mr.  Calhoun, 
the  Secretary  of  War,  was  a  third;  Mr.  Clay,  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  a  fourth; 
and  General  Jackson,  a  Senator  of  Tennessee,  was 
a  fifth. 

The  two  first  of  these  gentlemen  sit  in  the  cabinet 
with  Mr.  Adams,  and  present  the  singular  spectacle 
of  men  united  in  administering  the  affairs  of  the  na 
tion,  openly  and  honourably  opposed  to  each  other 
in  a  matter  of  the  greatest  personal  interest. 

Mr.  Crawford  was  for  a  long  time  thought  to  be 
the  strongest  candidate.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a 
man  admirably  qualified  to  fill  the  high  station  to 
which  he  aspired ;  but  a  paralytic  attack  had  greatly 
weakened  his  claims,  before  the  meeting  of  the  col 
leges.  His  friends,  too,  had  committed  a  Vulgar 
blunder,  which  is  more  likely  to  be  fatal  here  than 
in  any  country  I  know.  They  commenced  their 
electioneering  campaign  by  bold  assertions  of  their 
strength,  and  the  most  confident  predictions  of  suc 
cess.  I  have  heard  a  hundred  men  of  independence 
and  of  influence  say  that  disgust,  at  having  them 
selves  disposed  of  in  this  cavalier  manner,  disinclined 
them  to  a  cause  that  they  might  otherwise  have  been 
induced  to  support.  It  is  the  opinion  of  Cadwallader 
that  Mr.  Crawford  would  not  have  succeeded,  had 
his  health  not  so  unhappily  suffered.  He  was  but 
little  known  to  the  northern  States,  and  men  of 
character  and  talents  always  choose  to  have  at  least 
the  air  of  judging  for  themselves.  He  succeeded, 
however,  in  receiving  enough  votes  to  include  his 
name  among  the  three  highest  candidates,  and  con- 
Xx2 


510  MR.  CALHOUN MR.  CLAY GEN.  JACKSON. 

sequently  he  came  before  Congress  on  the  final 
question. 

Mr.  Calhoun,  who  is  still  a  young  man,  and  who 
probably  aimed  as  much  as  any  thing  at  getting  his 
name  prominently  before  the  nation,  to  be  ready  for 
a  future  struggle,  prudently  withdrew  from  the  con 
test.  As  he  is  universally  admitted  to  be  a  man  of 
high  talents,  he  was  put  up,  in  opposition  to  the  cele 
brated  Albert  Gallatin,  for  the  Vice-Presidency;  and 
as  that  gentleman  declined  the  election,  Mr.  Calhoun 
was  chosen  by  the  colleges  nearly  unanimously. 

Mr.  Clay  had  many  warm  friends,  and  was  sup 
ported  by  his  own  State  (Kentucky)  with  great  zeal ; 
but  he  failed  in  getting  his  name  included  on  the  list 
of  the  three  highest.  He  is  a  self-created  man,  of 
unquestionable  genius,  and  of  a  manner  and  elo 
quence  that  will  always  render  him  formidable  to 
his  opponents,  and  of  immense  value  to  his  political 
friends.  His  direct  interest  in  this  election,  how 
ever,  ceased,  of  necessity,  with  the  returns  of  the 
colleges. 

General  Jackson  is  a  gentleman  who  has  long  been 
employed  in  offices  of  high  trust  in  his  own  State,  but 
who  only  came  prominently  before  the  nation  during 
the  late  war.  He  is  a  lawyer  by  education,  and  has 
rilled  the  civil  stations  of  a  judge,  a  member  of  Con 
gress,  and,  lastly,  of  a  Senator.  In  early  life  he  serv 
ed  as  a  soldier,  during  the  struggle  for  independence; 
but  he  was  much  too  young  to  be  distinguished.  .  As 
a  military  man,  his  merit  is  unquestionable.  He  led 
two  or  three  difficult  expeditions  against  the  Indians 
of  the  south  with  great  decision  and  effect,  and  with 
an  uniformity  of  success  that  has  been  rare  indeed 
against  the  savages  of  this  continent.  In  consequence 
of  the  skill  and  energy  he  displayed  on  these  occa 
sions  as  a  general  of  militia,  he  received  a  commis 
sion  in  the  regular  army,  soon  after  the  declaration 
of  war  against  Great  Britain.  Fortunately,  he  was 


GEN.  JACKSON.  51  1 

chosen  to  defend  New-Orleans  against  the  formidable 
attack  of  that  country.  He  was  lying  a  short  dis 
tance  above  the  town,  with  a  small  body  of  men,* 
when  it  was  unexpectedly  announced  that  the  enemy 
had  landed  at  a  point,  whence  a  forced  march  of  two 
or  three  hours  would  put  them  in  possession  of  the 
place.  Mustering  as  many  of  his  motley  troops  as 
he  could  spare  from  other  points  of  defence,  (some 
thing  less  than  sixteen  hundred  men,)  he  led  them  to 
the  attack  against  a  regular  and  much  superior  force, 
whom  he  attacked  with  a  spirit  and  effect  which  left 
an  impression  that  he  was  far  stronger  than  the  truth 
would  have  shown.  By  this  bold  measure,  he  gain 
ed  time  to  throw  up  entrenchments  and  to  receive 
reenforcements.  Before  his  works  were  completed, 
or  one-half  of  the  necessary  troops  had  arrived,  the 
British  risked  the  celebrated  attack  of  the  8th  of 
January.  They  were  repulsed  with  horrible  slaugh 
ter  to  themselves,  and  with  an  impunity  to  the  de 
fendants  that  was  next  to  a  miracle.  The  works 
were  entered  at  an  incomplete  point;  but  all  who 
presented  themselves  were  either  slain  or  captured. 
The  great  modesty  of  the  account  of  his  success  given 
by  General  Jackson,  is  as  worthy  of  commendation 
as  was  his  indomitable  resolution.  Contrary  to  the 
usage  of  the  times,  he  gave  his  opinion  that  the  loss 
of  the  enemy  was  several  hundreds  less  than  what 
they  acknowledged  it  to  be  themselves,  and,  indeed,, 
nearly  a  thousand  less  than  what  further  observation 
gave  him  reason  to  believe  it  actually  was.  If  the 
decision  of  this  extraordinary  man  was  so  brilliantly 
manifested  in  the  moment  of  need,  his  subsequent 


*  Less  than  three  thousand  men.  As  late  as  the  29th  Decem 
ber,  General  Jackson,  in  an  official  letter,  states  his  whole  force 
at  three  thousand  effectives.  In  the  report  of  the  battle  of  the 
8th  January,  he  says,  that  though  a  detachment  of  Kentucky 
militia  had  arrived,  they  added  but  very  little  to  his  force,  as 
most  of  them  were  unarmed. 


512  GEN.  JACKSON. 

prudence  is  worthy  of  the  highest  commendation- 
Although  he  had  not  hesitated  an  instant  to  attack 
nearly  twice  his  force  on  the  open  plain,  when- 
nothing  short  of  desperate  courage  could  save  the 
town,  he  did  not  allow  success  to  lure  him  from  a 
position  which  experience  had  shown  he  could  main 
tain.  He  suffered  his  beaten,  but  still  greatly  supe 
rior  enemy  to  retire  unmolested;  and  it  i?  probable 
that,  had  they  asked  for  succour,  he  would  cheerfully 
have  yielded  them  assistance  to  embark.* 

*  The  force  with  which  General  Jackson  defended  New- 
Orleans,  according  to  the  official  returns,  was  less  than  6000 
men,  imperfectly  armed  and  organized  r  and  all  of  whom,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  marines  and  sailors,  and  two  battalions 
of  new  levies  for  the  army y  in  all  about  oae  thousand  men,  were 
the  citizens  of  the  country.  It  is  believed  that,  sailors  and  ma 
rines  included,  General  Packenham  landed  nearly  ten  thou 
sand  men.  It  would  be  a  curious  sttady,  to  those  who  had  any 
desire  to  sift  the  truth,  to  examine  the  documents  of  England 
and  America  in  relation  to  the  events  of  their  two  wars.  The 
writer  must  say  he  has  met  many  Americans  who  are  familiar 
with  the  documents  of  England,  but  he  never  yet  met  one  Eng 
lishman  who  was  familiar  with  those  of  America.  Nations  lose 
nothing  by  looking  a  little  closely  rnto«  their  own  affairs,  as  well 
as  into  those  of  other  people.  One  circumstance  first  drew  the 
writer  into  a  closer  investigation  of  these  subjects,  than  he  might 
otherwise  have  been  induced  to  undertake.  He  will  relate  it. 

It  is  well  known  that,  in  1814,  a  bloody  battle  was  fought 
near  the  great  cataract  of  Niagara.  The  American  general 
says,  that  a  brigade  of  his  .army  met  a  portion  of  the  British 
army,  and  engaged  it.  That  he  arrived  with  reenforcements, 
the  enemy  reenforcing  at  the  same  time;  that  he  was  much  an 
noyed  by  certain  pieces  of  artillery,  stationed  on  an  eminence 
that  formed  the  key  of  the  English  position ;  that  he  carried  this 
hill  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  captured  the  artillery ;  that 
the  enemy  made  three  desperate  attempts  to  regain  the  position 
and  their  guns,  in  all  of  which  they  were  defeated,  and  that  they 
finally  relinquished  the  attempt.  He  gives  his  enemy  a  small 
superiority  of  force,  and  he  conveys  an  implied  censure  against 
the  officer  third  in  command,  (he  and  his  second  in  command 
having  been  obliged  to  retire,  from  their  wonnds,)  for  not  secur 
ing  the  fruits  of  this  victory  on  the  morning  succeeding  the  day 
of  the  battle.  So  much  for  the  American.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  English  general  gives  a  sufficiently  similar  account  of  the 
commencement  of  the  battle.  He  also  admits  the  charge  up 
the  hill,  that  "  our  artillerymen  were  bayoneted  by  the  enemy 
in  the  act  of  loading;"  that  "our  troops  having  for  a  moment 


GEN.  JACKSON.  513 

General'Jackson  obtained  immense  popularity  in 
the  country  by  this  brilliant  success.  His  political 
honesty  is  unquestionable,  and  his  patriotism  without 
a  blot.  Still  his  want  of  experience  in  matters  of 
state,  and  even  his  military  habits,  were  strongly 
urged  against  him.  The  former  may  be  a  solid  ob 
jection,  but,  it  is  more  than  absurd,  it  is  wicked  to 
urge  the  military  character  of  a  citizen,  who  merito 
riously  leaves  his  retirement  in  the  hour  of  danger  to 
carry  those  qualities  with  which  nature  has  endowed 
him,  into  the  most  perilous,  and  commonly  the  least 
requited  service  of  his  country,  as  an  argument 
against  his  filling  any  station  whatever.  A  thousand 
falsehoods  have  been  circulated  at  the  expense  of 
General  Jackson,  and  even  some  admitted  inequality 
of  temper  has  been  grossly  exaggerated.  Notwith 
standing  the  industry  and  affected  contempt  of  the 
adversaries  of  this  gentleman,  he  received  more  of 
the  electoral  votes  than  the  highest  of  the  three  can 
didates  in  the  returned  list. 

been  pushed  back,  some  of  our  guns  remained  for  a  few  min 
utes  in  the  enemy's  hands;"  that  they  were,  however,  soon  re 
covered  ;  and  that,  instead  of  his  making  attacks  for  the  re 
covery  of  the  lost  position,  the  Americans  were  the  assailants; 
and  that  they  were  uniformly  defeated  in  their  attempts.  He 
estimates  the  force  of  the  Americans  at  nearly  double  what 
their  official  reports  state  it  to  have  been.  Both  parties  nearly 
double  the  (presumed)  loss  of  their  enemy ;  and  the  American, 
though  something  nearer  to  the  admission  of  the  Englishman 
than  the  Englishman  was  to  the  admission  of  the  American, 
estimated  the  force  of  his  enemy  considerably  over  the  official 
account. 

The  writer  was  struck  with  these  official  discrepancies.  The 
documents  were  uttered  to  the  world  under  the  same  forms,  in 
the  same  language,  and  by  people  acknowledging  the  same 
moral  influences.  He  was  induced  to  exclaim,  Where  is  the 
truth  of  history?  The  writer  knows  nothing  more  of  the  merits 
of  this  question  than  is  contained  in  the  documents  he  has  ex 
amined,  and  which  any  one  may  also  examine,  who  has  a  cu 
riosity  equal  to  his  own.  The  circumstance  should,  however, 
teach  moderation  to  partisans,  as  it  abundantly  proves  that  the 
data  on  which  they  found  their  opinions  cannot  always  be  of 
the  most  unexceptionable  nature. 


514  ELECTION    OF    PRESIDENT. 

The  day  of  the  final  decision  by  Congress  was  one 
of  great  interest  here.  All  the  candidates  were  on 
the  spot,  in  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties,  and 
large  bodies  of  their  friends  had  assembled  to  witness, 
and,  if  possible,  to  influence  the  result.  Cadwallader 
obtained  a  convenient  position,  where  we  both  wit 
nessed  the  whole  manner  of  the  election. 

Although  three  names  were  returned  to  Congress 
for  the  choice,  it  was  universally  understood  that  the 
selection  would  be  made  between  Messrs.  Adams 
and  Jackson.  It  would  have  been  indecent  in  the 
representatives  to  prefer  Mr.  Crawford  over  two 
men,  both  of  whom  had  recejved  nearly  double  the 
number  of  the  popular  votes  that  had  been  given  in 
his  favour,  though  by  the  constitution  they  certainly 
had  a  right  to  elect  which  of  the  three  they  pleased. 
It  was  thought  that  the  representatives  of  those  States 
in  which  the  electors  had  given  their  votes  for  this 
gentleman,  would  make  a  single  demonstration  in  his 
favour,  and  then  give  their  voices  for  one  or  the 
other  of  the  two  candidates,  who,  it  was  well  known, 
must  eventually  succeed. 

The  gallery  of  the  hall  of  Congress  was  crowded 
nearly  to  suffocation.  The  Senators  were  present  as 
a  sort  of  legal  witnesses  of  the  election,  and  many 
men  of  high  political  consideration  were  in  the  lob 
bies  and  behind  the  desks.  In  short,  every  one  was 
there  who  could  gain  admission  by  art  or  influence. 
The  arrangements  for  this  important  proceeding  were 
exceedingly  unpretending,  though  remarkably  im 
posing  by  their  simplicity,  and  that  air  of  grave  com 
posure  which  usually  reigns  over  all  the  legislative 
proceedings  of  this  country. 

The  members  of  the  different  States  were  now  seat 
ed  together,  since  they  composed  so  many  separate 
colleges  which,  on  this  momentous  question,  were  to 
pronounce  the  voices  of  their  particular  communities. 
Here,  sat  the  numerous  and  grave-looking  repre- 


FORMS    OF    THE    ELECTION.  515 

sentation  of  the  powerful  State  of  New-York,  and 
by  their  side  was  a  solitary  individual,  who,  in  his 
own  person,  held  all  the  authority  that  was  to  be 
exercised  on  that  important  day,  by  the  younger  com 
munity  of  Indiana,  This  gentleman,  and  one  or  two 
others,  were  men  of  peculiar  importance  in  an  event 
like  this,  since  accident  had  placed  them  individually 
on  a  level  with  large  bodies  of  enlightened  and  dis 
creet  men.  Still  it  is  not  probable  that  they  dared 
to  depart  from  the  known  wishes  of  the  people  they 
represented,  so  direct  and  certain  is  the  punishment 
which  usually  attends  popular  displeasure  in  this 
country. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  the  States  began  to  collect 
the  voices  among  themselves.  The  members  voted  by 
ballot,  having  established  for  that  purpose,  a  set  of 
simple  forms  by  which  the  votes  were  collected  and 
reported  to  tellers  appointed  to  receive  them  by  the 
house.  Fraud  was  impossible,  since  each  college 
knew  the  precise  number  of  its  votes,  and  each  indi 
vidual  deposited  his  ballot  with  his  own  hand.  The 
duty  was  soon  performed  by  the  smaller  States,  and 
a  moment  of  breathless  suspense  succeeded  while 
the  representatives  of  New-York  were  collecting 
their  votes.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Adams  had  counted 
on  twelve  States  with  great  confidence,  but  the  num 
ber  and  the  peculiar  policy  of  the  members  from 
New-York  had  rendered  their  vote  more  doubtful. 
The  result  was,  however,  soon  known  on  the  floor 
of  the  house,  as  was  quite  apparent  by  the  look  of 
suppressed  triumph  that  was  playing  about  the  eyes 
of  certain  partisans,  and  the  air  of  forced  composure 
that  was  assumed  by  their  adversarie's. 

The  result  was  communicated  to  the  Speaker, 
(who  had  himself  been  a  candidate  before  the  elec 
toral  colleges,)  and  then  it  was  officially  announced 
"that  thirteen  States  had  given  their  votes  for  John 
Quincy  Adams,  for  President  of  the  United  States 


516  AN    INTERRUPTION. 

during  the  four  years,  commencing  on  the  fourth  of 
March  next,  and  that  the  said  John  Quiney  Adams 
was  duly  elected.1'* 

While  the  sweet,  clear,  voice  of  Mr.  Clay  was  an 
nouncing  this  important  news,  1  never  witnessed  a 
more  intense  silence  in  any  assembly.  The  stillness 
continued  a  moment  after  his  words  had  ceased,  and 
then  followed  the  low  hum  of  whispers,  and  imme 
diately  after,  a  half  involuntary  and  feeble  clapping 
of  hands  was  heard  in  the  galleries.  This  little  burst 
of  exultation  on  the  part  of  somfc  indiscreet  specta 
tors,  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  man 
ner  in  which  the  American  legislators  maintain  order 
and  assert  their  dignity.  " Sergeant-at-arms,  clear 
the  galleries  !"  commanded  the  Speaker,  in  a  voice, 
that  of  itself  hushed  the  slightest  sound  of  approba 
tion.  The  officers  of  the  house  instantly  performed 
their  duty,  and  in  a  few  moments  those  spacious  and 
commodious  seats  which  were  so  lately  teeming  with 
conscious  human  countenances,  presented  nothing  to 
the  eye  but  its  magnificent  colonnade  and  long  rows 
of  empty  benches. 

The  house  soon  adjourned,  and  every  body  quitted 
the  Capitol,  some  filled  with  joy  they  could  ill  sup 
press,  and  others  evidently  struggling  to  conceal  the 
defeat  of  expectations  which  had  probably  been  more 
fed  by  hope  than  reason.  The  important  question 
was,  however,  irretrievably  decided  by  a  first  vote, 
notwithstanding  hundreds  had  anticipated  that  a  strug 
gle  similar  to  that  of  1801  was  about  to  occur  again. 

The  election  had  been  conducted  with  great  heat, 
especially  in  the  public  prints,  and  so  much  seeming 
violence  of  denunciation  had  beer*  used  during  the 
discussion,  that  I  confess  I  was  induced  to  look  about 
me,  as  we  quitted  the  edifice,  in  quest  of  the  legions 
that  were  to  tame  so  many  unquiet  spirits,  and  to 

*  Thirteen  States  being  a  majority  of  the  twenty-four  which 
now  compose  the  Union, "were  necessary  to  a  choice. 


AIR  OF  THE  UNSUCCESSFUL.  517 

teach  them  submission  to  an  authority  that  exercised 
its  functions  in  forms  so  simple  as  those  I  had  just 
witnessed.  I  had  heard  so  much  of  revolution,  and 
of  the  disorders  of  popular  governments,  that  it  did 
not  appear  possible  a  question  which,  an  hour  before, 
had  filled  the  minds  and  voices  of  men  with  so  much 
bitterness,  could  peaceably  subside  in  quiet,  and  in 
submission  to  a  force  that  was  invisible. 

During  the  preceding  week,  more  than  one  foreign 
functionary  had  whispered  in  my  ear  something  that 
implied  a  sneer  on  the  folly  of  periodically  throwing 
society  so  near  the  verge  of  dissolution,  by  enlisting 
the  passions  of  the  community  in  a  question  that  em 
braced  so  many  important  interests  as  these  frequent 
elections ;  and  one  of  them  had  intimated  an  expecta 
tion  that,  in  the  event  of  his  failure,  there  would  be 
a  rising  in  favour  of  a  military  hero,  who  was  not 
accustomed  to  defeat.  I  remembered  the  reply  of  my 
quiet  yeoman  in  the  stage-coach,  and  did  not  cer 
tainly  carry  my  expectations  quite  so  far ;  but  still  it 
was  inconceivable  that  passions  which  had  been  so 
strongly  excited,  should  subside  without  at  least  some 
of  the  usual  indications  of  a  disappointed  resentment. 

While  descending  Capitol  hill,  we  met  a  warm 
partisan  of  the  unsuccessful  candidate,  who  was 

known  to  us  both.  "Well, ,"  said  Cadwalla- 

der,  "  what  do  you  intend  to  do  now  ?  Your  man  has, 
beyond  all  hope,  lost  the  day."  "  We  shall  change 
the  face  of  things  four  years  hence,"  was  the  answer. 
The  reply  was  given  in  the  tone  of  one  who  seemed 
conscious  that  he  and  his  friends  had  been  mistaken 
in  their  force,  but  who,  at  the  same  time,  felt  that 
legal  means  of  obtaining  a  triumph  were  always  be 
fore  him.  I  must  acknowledge,  when  I  found  that 
one  of  the  most  violent  partisans  I  had  ever  met, 
was  for  deferring  his  schemes  of  revenge  to  a  day  so 
distant  as  four  years,  and  that  he  even  then  contem 
plated  to  effect  his  object  by  means  of  the  ballot-box, 
Yy 


518         EFFECT  OF  THE  ELECTIONS. 

I  began  to  despair  of  seeing  a  revolution  in  America 
during  my  visit.  It  is  true,  that  the  defeated  party 
have  begun  already  to  raise  a  clamour  against  cor 
ruptions  and  bargains ;  but  it  is  very  evident  that 
they  are  doing  it  as  mariners  place  an  extra  anchor 
.to  windward,  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  tempest 
which  is  known  to  come  on  periodically.* 

The  result  of  this  election,  and  the  sudden  calm 
that  succeeded  to  so  much  apparent  warmth,  have 
again  led  me  to  reflect  on  the  vague  and  imperfect 
impressions  which  we  get  in  Europe,  of  the  actual 
political  condition  of  America.  During  the  war  of 
1812,  one  saw  monthly  accounts,  in  the  journals  of 
England,  that  this,  or  that,  State  of  the  confederation 
was  on  the  verge  of  a  separation  from  the  Union,  and 
that  distress,  had  driven  men  to  madness  and  all  sorts 
of  political  desperation.  If  these  accounts  were  pub 
lished  in  good  faith,  they  imply  an  inconceivable  igno 
rance  of  the  actual  state  of  the  country;  for,  unless 
the  opinions  of  intelligent  men  of  all  parties  grossly 
deceive  me,  there  never  has  been  one  hour  since  the 
adoption  of  the  present  constitution,  when  probably 
one  thousand  natives  of  the  whole  United  States  have 
seriously  contemplated  any  such  event  as  likely  to  be 
near.  If  the  paragraphs  to  which  I  allude,  were 


*  The  writer  had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  witnessing  the 
effect  of  the  American  institutions,  shortly  after  the  event  above 
described,  while  on  a  visit  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  A  for 
eigner,  who  conducted  a  paper  in  that  city,  was  so  profoundly 
ignorant  of  the  people  among  whom  he  lived,  as  to  invite  a 
meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania,  in  order  to  provide 
the  means  of  marching  to  Washington  to  put  down  Mr.  Adams, 
who,  it  was  affirmed,  had  been  elected  by  means  of  corruption. 
Curiosity  drew  thousands  of  spectators  to  the  appointed  spot, 
in  order  to  see  what  would  be  done,  at  such  a  meeting.  No 
officers  appeared  to  oppose  it,  and  yet  the  affair  ended  in  the 
utter  disdain  of  the  whole  community.  The  miserable  intruder 
on  the  peaceful  habits  and  common  sense  of  the  Americans 
was  too  much  despised  to  be  punished  for  his  impudence, 
though  he  could  not  escape  contempt  and  ridicule. 


THE  STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  519 

published  with  a  view  to  deceive  the  people  of  Eu 
rope,  it  has  induced  the  inevitable  consequences  of  a 
wilful  ignorance,  viz.  disappointment.  I  am  perfectly 
satisfied,  that  a  vast  majority  of  the  citizens  of  this 
country  have  more  confidence  in  their  own  institu 
tions*  than  in  those  of  any  other  nation ;  nor  can  I 
find,  on  a  reasonably  close  examination  of  the  subject, 
that  they  are  so  very  wrong.  One  thing  is  certain, 
that  other  nations  have  made  much  nearer  approaches 
to  their  opinions,  during  the  last  h'alf  century,  than 
they  have  made  to  the  opinions  of  other  nations.* 

I  have  conversed  freely  on  this  matter  with  my 
friend  Cadwallader.  I  cannot  say  that  he  discusses 
the  subject  with  particular  gravity ;  but  one  of  his 
remarks  struck  me  as  possessing  singular  force.  "  Ho\* 
is  it,"  he  said,  "that  you,  or  any  stranger  who  enters 
our  country,  can  and  does  freely  discuss  the  danger 
of  a  dissolution  of  our  confederacy,  or  the  probability 
that  we  shall  one  day  become  a  monarchy,  and  that, 
too,  without  giving  offence  or  finding  any  difficulty  in 
meeting  with  disputants  ?  or  how  is  it  that-an  Ameri 
can  never  goes  into  an  European  country,  Switzer- 

*  What  are  all  the  changes  that  have  occurred  in  so  many 
kingdoms  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  but  approaches  to  the 
American  system  ?  It  is  certainly  the  fashion,  and  for  obvious 
reasons,  to  look  to  England  as  a  model  for  the  new  constitu 
tions,  but  what  is  England  herself  about?  The  American 
would  say,  that  the  recent  repeal  or  alteration  of  the  Test  Act, 
the  state  of  the  Catholic  question,  the  disfranchisement  of  rotten 
boroughs,  the  improvement  of  the  common  law,  and,  in  short, 
the  whole  plan  of  rational  reform  which  now  pervades  Eng 
land,  rests  on  principles,  that  rather  than  abandon,  his  ances 
tors  preferred  to  emigrate.  When  a  man  states  this  undeniable 
truth,  with  a  view  to  exult  in  the  superior  penetration  of  his 
own  people,  he  should  be  reminded  how  very  far  the  most 
faultless  are  from  perfection  in  any  thing ;  but  when  an  Euro 
pean  insolently  and  ignorantly  assumes  that  the  United  States 
are  existing  in  a  state  of  political  insecurity,  every  day  and 
every  hour,  the  citizen  of  the  latter  country  has  a  natural  right 
to  throw  these  stubborn  facts  into  the  teeth  of  such  supercilious 
commentators. 


520  TWO  SIDES  OF  THE  QUESTION. 

land,  perhaps,  excepted,  without  finding  men,  let 
their  breeding  be  what  it  may,  who  very  unequivo 
cally  let  him  know  that  they  consider  his  government 
as  a  chimerical  project,  and  the  constitution  of  his 
empire  exceedingly  frail ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
if  the  American  attempt  a  comparison  between  his 
own  government  and  that  of  his  assailant,  he  is  gen 
erally  silenced  by  cold  looks  and  an  averted  eye? 
It  is  odd  that  all  this  sensitiveness,  more  especially 
as  the  parties  exhibiting  it  rarely  fail  of  being  bold 
enough  on  the  subject  of  American  democracy, 
should  abide  in  the  midst  of  such  conscious  security. 
We  all  of  us  know,  that  most  Europeans  so  far  iden 
tify  themselves  with  their  soil  as  to  believe  they  have 
a  moral  superiority  over  the  American  that  is  exactly 
in  proportion  to  the  antiquity  of  their  governments ; 
but  we  also  know  a  fact  that  commonly  escapes  their 
acuteness.  The  practices  of  Europe  form  part  of 
our  experience  ;  while  Europe  knows  nothing  of  our 
practices.  Answer  me  one  thing.  Why  does  Amer 
ica  trouble  herself  so  little  about  the  governments  of 
Europe,  while  all  Europe  is  demonstrating  on  papei 
that  our  republics  cannot  endure  ?  I  think,  when 
you  find  the  motive  of  this  marked  difference,  you 
will  not  be  far  from  the  secret  consciousness  which 
the  two  parties  have  in  the  strength  and  durability 
of  their  respective  systems." 

The  evening  of  the  day  of  the  election  was  one 
of  those  on  which  Mrs.  Monroe  opens  the  doors  of 
the  White  House  to  the  motley  assemblage  I  have 
already  described.  Great  curiosity  was  felt  by  every 
one  to  be  present,  because  it  was  known  that  the 
principal  personages,  who  had  been  so  recently  ex 
erting  themselves  in  the  question  which  was  just  de 
cided,  were  in  the  habit  of  paying  their  respects,  on 
these  occasions,  to  the  wife  of  the  first  magistrate. 
We  went  at  ten. 

Perhaps  the  company  on  this  evening  was  a  little 


THE  EVENING  OF  THE  ELECTION.      521 

njpre  numerous  than  on  the  preceding  drawing-room. 
It  was  composed  of  the  same  sort  of  visiters,  and  it 
was  characterized  by  the  same  decency  of  exterior 
and  of  deportment.  We  found  the  President  and 
Mrs.  Monroe  in  their  usual  places ;  the  former  en 
circled  by  a  knot  of  politicians,  and  the  latter  attend 
ed  by  a  circle  of  women,  of  rather  brilliant  appear 
ance.  Most  of  the  Secretaries  were  near,  conversing 
cheerfully,  like  men  who  had  just  got  rid  of  an  irk 
some  and  onerous  toil ;  and  I  thought,  by  the  placid 
air  of  the  venerable  chief  justice,  that  he  was  well 
content  that  the  harassing  question  was  decided. 
The  assistant  justices  of  the  supreme  court  were  also 
present,  near  the  person  of  the  President ;  and  a 
group  had  collected  in  the  same  room  ;  in  the  midst 
of  which  I  discovered  the  smiling  features  and  play 
ful  eye  of  La  Fayette.  The  Speaker  was  known»to 
have  favoured  the  election  of  Mr.  Adams,  and  I 
thought  I  could  trace  secret  satisfaction  at  the  result 
in  a  countenance  that  his  height  elevated  above  those 
of  most  of  his  companions.  There  was  no  coarse 
exultation  on  the  part  of  the  victors,  nor  any  un 
manly  dejection  on  that  of  the  defeated.  Several  of 
the  latter  spoke  to  us  ;  and,  in  reply  to  the  laughing 
condolences  of  my  friend,  they  made  but  one  re 
mark — "  We  shall  see  what  the  next  four  years  will 
do." 

"  How  do  you  do,  General  Jackson  ?"  said  Cad- 
wallader,  as  we  passed  out  of  one  drawing-room  into 
another.  The  unsuccessful  candidate  returned  the 
greeting  with  his  usually  mild  and  graceful  mien.  I 
watched  his  manly  and  marked  features  narrowly, 
during  the  courteous  dialogue  that  followed ;  but, 
with  all  my  suspicions,  it  was  impossible  to  trace  the 
slightest  symptoms  of  a  lurking  disappointment.  He 
left  us  laughing  and  conversing  cheerfully  with  some 
ladies,  who  induced  him  to  join  their  party.  A  minute 
before,  he  had  been  seen  congratulating  his  success- 
.  Yy2 


522  THE    SUCCESSFUL    MAN. 

ful  rival  with  great  dignity,  and  with  perfect  good 
nature. 

We  now  entered  the  last  apartment  of  the  suite, 
with  the  hope  of  finding  a  cooler  atmosphere.  A 
group  of  men,  among  whom  perhaps  a  dozen  women 
were  intermingled,  had  collected  about  some  object 
of  common  interest.  Drawing  near,  I  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  cold  air  which,  in  contrast  to  an  un 
commonly  fine  and  piercing  eye,  forms  so  remarka 
ble  an  expression  in  the  countenance  of  Mr.  Adams. 
He  was  certainly  in  good  spirits  ;  though,  had  we  not 
known  his  recent  victory,  it  is  probable  that  his  man 
ner  would  not  have  been  at  all  remarked.  He  soon 
extricated  himself  from  the  crowd,  and  spoke  to  two 
or  three  of  us  who  stood  together.  "  Why  have  you 
not  been  to  see  us  lately  ?"  he  inquired  of  a  member 
o£  Congress,  from  Virginia :  "  Mrs.  Adams  complains 
that  you  were  not  at  her  last  evening."  "  I  have 
been  there  so  often  this  winter,  that  I  began  to  think 
it  necessary  to  be  absent  for  the  sake  of  form."  "  Is 
that  the  etiquette  ?"  "  We  must  ask  this  question  of 
you  ;"  returned  the  Virginian,  laughing,  in  allusion  to 
the  Secretary's  well-known  strictures  on  the  subject ; 
"you  are  our  authority  in  all  matters  of  etiquette." 
"  Well  then,"  returned  the  President  elect,  with  great 
good  humour,  and  with  the  tact  of  a  courtier ;  "  I 

pronounce  it  to  be  always  etiquette  for  Mr. to 

visit  Mrs.  Adams."* 

*  Mr.  Adams  and  General  Jackson  are  again  candidates  for 
the  presidency.  As  the  contest  is  as  yet  confined  to  these  two, 
and  it  is  so  shortly  to  be  decided  (in  December  of  1828,)  it  is 
probable  that  one  of  them  wilt  be  chosen.  What  the  writer 
now  states,  he  says  understandingly.  A  good  deal  is  certainly 
said  concerning  the  inexperience  of  General  Jackson,  and 
some  press  the  circumstance  of  his  chief  merit  being  military, 
as  a  reason  against  him.  There  is  not  a  man  in  the  Union  who, 
however,  seriously  apprehends  any  danger  from  his  election 
It  is  false  that  he  is  not  supported  by  wary  and  prudent  men 
The  writer  can  name  a  hundred  gentlemen  in  the  middle  States, 
of  education,  of  fortune,  and  of  religion,  too,  who  are  his  warm 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 


Washington, 

YESTERDAY,  while  walking  with  Cadwallader  on 
the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  we  saw  a  group  of  gen 
tlemen,  in  the  midst  of  whom  we  distinguished  the 
animated  features  of  La  Fayette,  moving  towards  a 
steam-boat  that  was  waiting  their  arrival.  A  moment 
of  explanation  induced  us  to  join  the  party,  which 
was  about  to  visit  the  tomb  of  Washington. 

Mount  Vernon,  an  estate  which  the  hero  inherited 
from  an  elder  brother,  lies  on  the  river  at  the  dis 
tance  of  about  two  hours'  sailing  towards  the  sea. 
The  boat  was  rather  more  crowded  than  was  desira 
ble  for  such  a  visit ;  but  the  circumstances  left  us  no 
choice.  We  passed  the  little  city  of  Alexandria  on 
our  route,  and  reached  the  point  of  destination  within 
a  reasonable  time  of  our  departure. 

The  estate  of  Mount  Vernon  was  left  by  the  will 
of  its  late  possessor  to  his  nephew,  Mr.  Bushrod 
Washington,  who  has  long  been  one  of  the  assistant 
justices  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 
The  country,  immediately  about  the  dwelling,  is  much 
wooded ;  the  land  being  neither  particularly  level, 
nor  yet  very  uneven.  .  The  house  stands  on  a  rather 


friends.  'The  question  is  altogether  one  of  men,  there  being 
scarcely  a  measure  of  policy  that  is  likely  to  be  much  affected 
by  the  result.  A  great  deal  of  the  popularity  of  General  Jack 
son  is  owing  to  an  injudicious  and  presuming  opposition,  which 
has  foolishly  ascribed  a  danger  to  his  success,  that  is  as  false,  as 
his  friends  are  determined  to  manifest  it  is  ridiculous.  But  men 
may  well  hesitate  about  rejecting  so  tried  a  patriot,  and  so  ex 
perienced  a  statesman,  as  Mr.  Adams. 


524  MOUNT    VERNON. 

sudden  rise,  which  may  be  elevated  more  than  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water.  The 
ascent  from  the  river  is  quite  precipitous,  though  the 
ground  falls  away  to  the  north  and  to  the  south,  with 
rather  more  regularity.  The  building  is  placed  on  the 
highest  point;  a  position  which  scarcely  leaves  room 
for  a  very  narrow  lawn  between  it  and  the  brow  of 
the  declivity  in  front.  In  the  rear,  the  formation  of 
the  ground  is  level,  for  some  distance,  and  tolerably 
extensive  gardens  communicate  with  the  inner  or 
back  court. 

The  house  of  Mount  Vernon  is  constructed  of  a 
frame-work,  whose  interstices,  I  am  informed,  are 
filled  with  bricks.  The  exterior  covering  is  of  planks, 
concealed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  it,  at  a  little 
distance,  the  appearance  of  being  made  of  hewn  stone. 
The  interior  finish  is  like  that  of  any  other  better  sort 
of  mansion.  The  length  of  the  whole  edifice  cannot 
greatly  exceed  one  hundred  feet;  and  I  should  think 
that,  in  depth,  it  is  something  less  than  fifty.  There 
are,  however,  two  semicircular  chains  of  offices, 
"which  project  from  each  of  its  ends  towards  the  rear, 
something  in  the  form  of  sweeping  galleries.  These 
additions  serve  to  give  the  building  much  more  of  an 
air  of  size  from  the  side  of  the  gardens  than  from  that 
of  the  river.  Towards  the  east  (the  river  front)  there 
is  a  colonnade  which  supports  a  roof  that  is  continued 
from  the  main  edifice.  Though  the  pillars  are  very 
simple,  the  effect  of  a  colonnade,  so  lofty  and  so  long, 
is  rather  striking ;  and,  on  the  whole,  it  leaves  an  im 
pression  that  the  house  was  one  not  altogether  un 
worthy  of  its  simple  but  illustrious  possessor. 

The  interior  of  the  building  is  exceedingly  irregu 
lar,  though  far  from  inconvenient.  I  had  full  leisure 
for  its  examination,  while  a  solemn  scene  was  taking 
place  at  the  tomb.  La  Fayette  had  been  permitted  to 
go  to  this  sacred  spot,  unattended  by  any  except  the 
immediate  members  of  the  two  families.  I  was  per- 


HOUSE  OF  MOUNT  VERNON.          525 

mitted,  by  an  especial  favour,  to  pass  up  the  ascent 
by  another  path,  and  to  examine  the  rest  of  the 
grounds  and  the  mansion. 

There  was  but  one  considerable  apartment  in  the 
dwelling.  This  was  a  drawing-room  that  occupied  the 
whole  width  of  the  house,  with  a  proper  proportion 
of  its  length.  The  rest  of  the  rooms  were  small,  and 
of  arrangements  to  prove  that  they  were  constructed 
before  the  master  of  the  mansion  was  in  the  habit  of 
receiving  more  guests  than  fell  to  the  share  of  a  pri 
vate  gentleman.  Most  of  the  furniture  was  of  the 
time  of  the  hero.  It  was  exceedingly  simple,  though 
I  thought  it  quite  good  enough,  in  fashion  and  in  form, 
for  a  country  residence.  The  principal  drawing-room 
had  more  the  air  of  a  reception-room  than  the  others, 
which  were  altogether  in  a  quiet,  comfortable,  and 
domestic  taste.  There  was  a  library,  that  is  rather 
large  for  America,  but  which,  in  Europe,  would  be 
thought  very  small  for  the  habitation  of  a  man  of  any 
eminence. 

I  looked  on  all  these  things  with  a  deep  and  in 
creasing  emotion.  The  house,  at  the  moment,  with 
the  exception  of  Cadwallader  and  myself,  and  a  do 
mestic  who  showed  us  through  the  rooms,  was  entirely 
empty.  More  than  once,  as  my  hand  touched  a  lock 
to  open  some  door,  I  felt  the  blood  stealing  up  my 
arm,  as  the  sudden  conviction  flashed  on  my  mind 
that  the  member  rested  on  a  place  where  the  hand  of 
Washington  had  probably  been  laid  a  thousand  times. 
That  indescribable,  but  natural  and  deeply  grateful, 
feeling  beset  me,  which  we  all  are  made  to  know 
when  the  image  of  a  fellow-mortal,  who  has  left  a 
mighty  name  on  earth,  is  conjured  before  us  by  the 
imagination  in  the  nearest  approaches  to  reality  that 
death,  and  time,  and  place,  and  the  whisperings  of  an 
*»  excited  fancy,  will  allow.  There  was  a  sort  of  secret 
desire,  rather  than  an  expectation,  of  finding  some 
thing  more  than  what  reason  told  me  to  expect ;  and 


526  A  RELIC. 

I  passed  from  parlour  to  parlour,  in  my  haste,  until 
my  companions  were  left  behind,  and  I  found  myself 
alone  in  a  sort  of  upper  office  of  the  mansion.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  sensation  that  I  felt,  as  my  eye  gazed 
on  the  first  object  it  encountered.  It  was  an  article 
of  no  more  dignity  than  a  leathern  fire-bucket;  but 
the  words  "Geo.  Washington"  were  legibly  written 
on  it  in  white  paint.  I  know  not  how  it  was,  but  the 
organ  never  altered  its  look  until  the  name  stood  be 
fore  my  vision  distinct,  insulated,  and  almost  endowed 
with  the  attributes  of  the  human  form.  The  deception 
was  aided  by  all  the  accessories  which  the  house 
could  furnish.  Just  at  that  instant,  my  friend,  who  is 
a  man  of  tall  stature  and  grave  air,  appeared  in  the 
adjoining  door,  without  speaking.  I  felt  the  blood 
creeping  near  my  heart  with  awe,  nor  did  the  illusion 
vanish  until  Cadwallader  passed  before  me,  and  laid 
a  hand,  with  a  melancholy  smile,  on  the  words,  and 
then  retired  towards  the  grounds,  with  a  face  that  I 
thought  he  would  gladly  conceal. 

We  were  shown  into  the  gardens  and  green 
houses.  In  the  latter,  the  domestic  culled  us  a  bou 
quet  of  hot-house  flowers;  and,  turning  to  a  box 
which  lay  at  hand,  he  took  a  sheet  of  paper,  and, 
enveloping  their  stems,  presented  them  to  my  friend. 
Cadwallader  received  them  thoughtfully;  but  his 
mind  was  too  much  occupied  at  the  moment  to  attend 
to  so  trifling  an  occurrence.  We  had  returned  to  the 
city,  and  were  at  our  late  dinner,  when  his  eye  seem 
ed  riveted,  by  some  charm,  on  the  paper  that  en 
circled  this  little  offering.  Scattering  the  flowers  on 
every  side  of  him,  he  laid  the  paper  on  the  table,  and 
read  its  contents  with  breathless  eagerness.  It  proved 
to  be  a  sheet  torn  from  a  farming  journal  of  the  mod 
ern  Cincinnatus,  which  had  been  kept  in  his  own 
hand.  The  writing  was  distinct,  though  there  were 
many  technical  abbreviations  :  the  pages  were  with 
out  blot  or  erasure,  and  the  precision  of  the  language 


RECOLLECTION  OF  M.  GEO.  LA  FAYETTE.        527 

and  the  minuteness  of  the  details  were  rigidly  exact. 
The  precious  morsel  was  divided,  and  each  of  us  took 
his  portion,  like  men  who  were  well  content  with  the 
possession  of  some  sacred  relic. 

When  we  left  the  green-house,  we  were  joined  by 
the  party  of  the  veteran  Frenchman.  We  had  part 
ed  at  the  margin  of  the  water,  and  each  of  us  had 
found  subjects  for  reflection  that  were  alike  pleasing 
and  painful.  lust  before  we  separated,  there  had 
been  a  little  hesitation  in  the  choice  of  the  path  that 
led  to  the  mansion.  "  Let  me  show  you  the  way," 
cried  M.  George  La  Fayette,  eagerly,  but  with  evi 
dent  emotion :  "  I  know  all  the  paths  of  Mount  Ver- 
non."  Twenty-five  years  before,  during  the  exile  of 
his  natural  parent,  he  had  been  intrusted  to  Wash 
ington,  as  to  a  second  father,  and  he  now  rushed  for 
ward,  full  of  his  recollections,  to  point  out  a  route 
that  time  and  momentous  scenes  in  another  hemi 
sphere,  had  not  blotted  from  his  memory.  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  describe  what  passed  at  the  vault 
during  the  visit  of  La  Fayette.  He  was  powerfully 
affected,  and  the  recess  of  the  dead  was  opened  to 
his  admission.  When  he  joined  us,  it  was  evident 
that  his  feelings  had  been  wrought  up  to  a  high  and 
painful  point ;  and  I  thought  his  eye  wandered  over 
the  familiar  objects  of  the  dwelling,  as  if  every  thing 
keenly  reminded  him  that  he  who  gave  them  life  and 
interest,  had  passed  away  from  the  moving  scenes  of 
the  earth  into  the  solemn  quiet  of  the  place  he  had 
just  quitted.  We  took  the  occasion  of  his  absence 
from  the  spot,  to  go  ourselves  to  the  tomb.  As  Cad- 
walladcr  knew  the  way,  I  had  no  other  companion. 

The  family  vault  of  Mount  Vernon  stands  near  the 
brow  of  the  declivity,  at  a  little  distance  from  the 
mansion,  and  at  the  point  where  the  ground  begins 
to  fall  away  to  the  south.  It  is  as  plain  and  simple 
as  can  be  well  imagined.  The  excavation  in  the 
earth  is  neither  large  nor  deep,  and  the  small  portion 


528  THE    VAULT WASHINGTON. 

of  the  work  that  is  visible  in  front,  is  a  dead  wall  of 
bricks.  The  door  was  low,  humble  and  unornament- 
ed — a  more  meek  and  fitting  passage  to  the  narrow 
house  of  the  dead  than  thresholds  and  arches  of  mock 
ing  architecture.  The  earth  is  rounded  over  the 
summit  of  the  vault,  and  a  few  stunted  and  sickly 
cedars  have  taken  root  on  and  about  it. 

I  have  stood  by  the  side  of  many  a  boasted  and 
admired  tomb ;  but  by  none  with  the  awe  and  reve 
rence  with  which  I  gazed  on  this.  The  dark  days 
of  the  revolution,  the  gloom  and  difficulties  which 
threatened  the  first  hours  of  the  present  government, 
the  cheerful  and  prosperous  scenes  through  which  1 
had  so  recently  passed,  crowded  on  my  memory,  and 
produced  a  teeming  picture  in  which  the  most  prom 
inent  object  was  the  form  of  the  man  whose  ashes 
were  mouldering  beneath  my  feet. 

I  have  ever  been  an  ardent,  and  were  there  not  so 
much  reason  to  support  me,  I  might  say  an  enthusi 
astic  admirer  of  Washington.  His  character,  unlike 
that  of  the  heroes  of  other  days,  is  most  illustrious 
when  seen  at  the  nearest  approach.  Those  who 
lived  the  closest  to  his  person,  and  who  possessed 
the  best  opportunity  of  studying  his  moral  qualities, 
are  touched  with  the  deepest  reverence  for  his  vir 
tues.  The  narrative  of  his  private  deeds  is  the 
counterpart  of  the  history  of  his  public  acts.  They 
were  alike  founded  on  the  immutable  principles  of 
justice  and  truth.  Men  already  regard  him  with  the 
admiration  with  which  they  gaze  at  a  severe  statue 
of  antiquity.  He  stands,  naked  of  meretricious  orna 
ment,  but  grand  in  the  majesty  of  reason. 

Some,  who  know  little  of  the  history  of  the  man, 
01  of  his  nation,  confound  the  images  of  his  renown, 
by  blending  his  merit  with  deeds  that  it  was  the  for 
tune  of  no  one  to  perform  in  America.  This  was  not 
the  country  of  Alexanders  and  Napoleons. 

The  useful  career  of  Washington  commenced  at 


WASHINGTON.  520 

an  age  when  men  are  occupied  in  fitting  themselves 
for  the  active  scenes  of  life.  Before  he  had  attained 
his  majority,  he  was  employed  by  his  native  province 
in  situations  of  high  trust  Even  at  that  early  period 
of  life,  he  had  established  a  character  for  firmness 
integrity,  prudence,  disinterestedness,  and  humanity, 
which  attended  him  to  the  peaceful  grave  in  whicli 
I  found  his  venerated  ashes.  There  was  an  unpre 
tending,  but  imposing  dignity  thrown  about  the  per 
son  and  character  of  this  extraordinary  youth,  that 
distinguished  him  in  every  future  scene.  As  a  sol 
dier,  his  career  had  been  circumscribed,  as  a  politi 
cian,  he  had  enjoyed  no  opportunities  to  earn  distinc 
tion,  and  yet,  when  the  hour  of  trial  came,  the  eyes 
of  a  nation  sought  him  anxiously.  The  Congress  of 
the  Union,  composed  of  men  from  differently  consti 
tuted  and  distant  provinces,  summoned  him  by  a 
common  impulse  to  lead  its  armies.  The  influence 
of  his  character  had  been  silently  extending  itself 
over  the  vast  regions  whose  fortunes  were  trusted  to 
his  care.  His  rise  to  power  was  degraded  by  no  in 
trigue  ;  its  exercise  was  stained  by  no  abuse.  The 
times  required  that  a  people,  jealous  beyond  prece 
dent  of  their  rights,  should  trust  a  large  portion  of 
their  destinies  to  the  keeping  of  a  single  man.  They 
calmly,  dispassionately,  and  wisely  made  their  elec 
tion  ;  confidence  was  nobly  bestowed,  meekly  receiv 
ed,  and  gloriously  requited  ! 

The  sword  of  Washington  did  not  leap  from  its 
scabbard  with  the  eagerness  of  military  pride,  or  with 
the  unbridled"  haste  of  one  willing  to  make  human 
life  the  sacrifice  of  an  unhallowed  ambition.  It  was 
deliberately  drawn  at  the  call  of  his  country,  but  with 
a  reluctance  that  came  deep  from  the  heart,  and  with 
a  diffidence  that  acknowledged  the  undisputed  do 
minion  of  his  God.  He  went  forth  to  battle  with 
the  meekness  of  a  mortal,  the  humanity  of  a  Chris 
tian,  the  devotedness  of  a  patriot,  and  the  resolution 
Zz 


530  WASHINGTON. 

of  a  victor.  As  his  object  was  limited  by  a  righteous 
moderation,  so  were  his  intentions  to  achieve  it, 
bounded  onl y  by  success.  In  the  air,  the  declarations, 
and  the  pledges  of  such  a  man,  we  are  not  to  look 
for  dramatic  effect,  or  promises  that  were  made  to 
be  forgotten.  He  took  the  trust  his  country  offered, 
because  it  was  the  pleasure  of  that  country  he  should 
do  so ;  and  when  its  duties  were  excellently  per 
formed,  he  returned  it  to  the  hands  from  whence  it 
had  come,  with  a  simplicity  which  spoke  louder  than 
a  thousand  protestations.  The  integrity  of  such  a 
mind  needed  no  stimulants  from  the  pages  of  history. 
Its  impulses  were  drawn  from  a  higher  source.  Its 
self-denial  was  not  a  victory  over  opportunity,  and 
occasion,  and  power,  and  all  the  natural  promptings 
of  busy  man ;  but  it  was  a  silent,  enduring,  princi 
pled,  and  unconquerable  will  to  refuse  to  admit  tempt 
ation.  So  far  as  the  human  heart  can  be  judged  by 
outward  symptoms,  there  never  was  a  moment  when 
this  true  hero  ever  suffered  his  thoughts  to  change 
their  righteous  and  devoted  direction;  there  never 
was  a  moment  when  men,  in  the  least  competent  to 
speak  on  the  subject,  ever  suspected  him  of  any  other 
object  than  patriotism.  It  is  impossible  to  look  closely 
into  the  conduct  and  motives  of  this  man,  and  not 
to  feel  that  his  simple  rule  of  morals  said,  self  before 
dishonour,  my  country  before  self,  and  God  before  all. 
It  is  the  common  fate  of  heroes  to  suffer  by  inti 
macy  ;  but  the  private  life  of  Washington  was  as 
beautiful,  as  his  public  was  glorious.  The  latter  was 
no  more  than  an  expansion  of  those  principles  which 
controlled  the  former.  The  same  sternness  of  in 
tegrity,  the  same  simplicity  of  purpose,  could  always 
be  traced  in  that  familiar  conduct  in  which  most  men 
fail.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  remark,  that  his  most 
confidential  correspondence  is  still  in  existence,  in 
viting  scrutiny,  and  challenging  comment.  There 
was  a  time  when  reverses  and  calumny,  and  weari- 


WASHINGTON.  531 

ness  of  suffering,  had  made  a  party  of  his  country 
men  impatient  of  his  government.  A  few  misguided 
individuals  would  have  elevated  a  chief  of  untried 
abilities  to  the  post  he  filled.  The  machinations  of 
his  enemies  were  known  to  Washington.  Accident, 
rather  than  merit,  had  placed  his  rival  in  a  situation 
to  reap  a  glory  far  exceeding  that  which  had  then 
fallen  to  the  share  of  any  leader  in  the  contest.  But 
the  issue  of  events  still  rested  on  contingencies. 
Washington  saw  the  crisis  from  a  distance,  and  though 
unfortunate,  and  opposed  to  a  victorious  and  power 
ful  foe,  he  stripped  himself  of  force,  in  order  to  in 
sure  a  good  to  his  country,  that  would  probably  hasten 
his  own  downfall.  But  the  nation  saw  the  sacrifice 
and  too  well  knew  the  estimate  of  merit  to  be  de 
ceived.  Still  it  required  that  a  high  reward  should 
be  bestowed  on  the  successful  general.  He  received 
another  trust,  and  sank  under  an  incompe.tency  that 
no  longer  was  supported  by  the  extraordinary  talent 
of  subordinates.  Then  it  was  that  the  soul  of  Wash 
ington  was  exhibited  in  its  native  power.  The  bruised 
spirit  of  foiled  ambition  was  solaced,  and  so  solaced, 
that  the  disappointed  rejoiced  in  the  sympathy  of 
success. 

The  character  of  Washington  was  Doric,  in  all 
its  proportions.  Its  beauty  is  the  beauty  of  harmony 
between  purpose  and  means,  and  its  grandeur  is  ow 
ing  to  its  chaste  simplicity.  Like  the  order  of  archi 
tecture  to  which  I  have  ventured  to  ascribe  a  resem 
blance,  it  is  not  liable  to  the  details  of  criticism.  You 
see  it  in  its  majesty  of  outline,  in  its  durability,  and 
in  its  admirable  adaptation  to  usefulness ;  but  it  rests 
on  a  foundation  too  firm,  and  it  upholds  a  superstruc 
ture  too  severe,  to  be  familiarly  dissected.  His  fame 
already  resembles  that  which  centuries  have  pro 
duced  for  other  men,  while  it  owes  no  portion  of  its 
purity  to  the  mist  of  time.  Truth,  bold,  clear,  and 
radiant,  is  the  basis  of  his  renown ;  and  truth  will 


532  WASHINGTON. 

bear  his  name  to  posterity  in  precisely  Hie  same  sim 
ple  and  just  attributes  as  it  was  known  to  those  who 
lived  in  his  immediate  presence. 

The  age  has  been  prolific  of  character,  and  it 
should  be  prolific  in  the  lessons  it  conveys.  I  think 
a  mighty  moral  is  taught  by  the  careers  of  Washing 
ton  and  Napoleon.  A  parallel  between  these  emi 
nent  men  is  impossible  ;  but  a  comparison  is  easy  in 
deed.  To  say  that  the  former  lived  for  others,  and 
the  latter  solely  for  himself,  is  to  say  no  more  than 
what  most  men  see,  and  feel,  and  acknowledge.  To 
endeavour  to  magnify  the  exploits  of  the  latter,  by 
putting  them  in  contrast  with  those  of  the  former, 
would  be  unjust,  since  accident  and  not  merit  was  at 
the  bottom  of  this  distinction.  It  should,  however, 
never  be  forgotten,  that  the  first  achieved  all  he  aimed 
at,  which  was  all  that  man  should  do ;  and  that  the 
last  failed,  from  an  incompetency  of  estimating  his 
own  powers.  The  error  of  the  latter  is  the  more 
unpardonable,  since,  to  gross  want  of  judgment,  must 
be  added  unworthiness  of  purpose ;  nor  is  it  in  any 
degree  lessened  by  the  circumstance  that  he  sinned 
in  the  presence  of  so  bright  and  so  glorious  an  ex 
ample.  If  there  be  any  so  weak  as  to  believe  the 
asseverations  of  Napoleon,  that  he  fought  for  aught 
but  self,  let  them  try  his  patriotism  by  the  same  test 
as  that  of  Washington.  It  is  true  that,  in  mere  ex 
tent  of  achievement,  the  hero  of  France  vastly  out 
stripped  the  patriot  of  America ;  but  the  latter  not 
only  wanted  a  theatre  for  his  actions,  but  he  was  of 
ten  deficient  in  means.  Merit  is  of  a  nature  too  com 
parative  to  be  rashly  reduced  to  results ;  but  strip 
these  men  of  their.accidental  and  adventitious  advan 
tages,  and  regard  them  steadily.  The  military  career 
of  Napoleon  was  run  in  the  current  of  prosperity, 
while  that  of  Washington  was  a  constant,  but  manly 
struggle,  against  a  combination  of  the  most  adverse 
circumstances.  In  addition  to  this  important  fact, 


WASHINGTON.  533 

the  one  considered  his  troops  as  the  devoted  instru 
ments  of  his  own  purposes,  and  he  used  them  accord 
ingly  ,  while  the  other  looked  on  his  followers  not 
only  as  the  sole  guardians  of  a  country  to  which  they 
were  devoted,  but  as  an  important  portion  of  that 
community  for  whose  happiness  he  was  contending. 
Napoleon  was  greatest  in  prosperity  ;  but  the  fame 
of  Washington  is  as  equal  as  his  character. 

They  who  believe  that  America  would  not  have 
been  free  without  Washington,  neither  understand 
the  part  he  acted,  nor  the  people  who  intrusted  him 
with  power.  The  war  of  1776  was  purely  a  war 
of  principle.  Remonstrance  and  petition  had  been 
exhausted,  and  no  duty  of  forbearance  was  neglected. 
All  that  justice,  and  temper,  and  mercy  required, 
had  been  done  before  the  sword  was  drawn  at  all. 
When  it  was  determined  to  resist,  it  became  necessa 
ry  to  choose  a  leader  worthy  of  a  cause  so  righteous ; 
one  who  would  give  dignity  to  the  quarrel  in  the  eyes 
of  nations ;  who  would  secure  confidence  at  home, 
and  who  could  command  respect  from  those  who 
were  bent  on  submission  to  their  will.  These  diffi 
cult  duties  did  Washington  perform,  in  a  manner  to 
exceed  the  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine.  His  enemies 
never  dared  to  assail  his  integrity.  No  man  was  ever 
sufficiently  hardy  to  affect  to  distrust  his  motives. 
While  he  wielded  a  power  little  short  of  that  of  a 
dictator,  and  wielded  it  firmly  and  with  steadiness, 
the  governed  never  knew  uneasiness.  So  far  from 
aiming  at  an  unjust  purpose,  he  checked,  not  with 
Roman  severity,  but  with  the  directness  and  sim 
plicity  of  an  honest  man,  the  least  approach  to  that 
disorder  or  disaffection  in  his  troops,  which,  if  any 
thing  could  do  it  in  a  country  like  this,  would  have 
effected  the  views  of  a  personal  ambition.  On  all 
occasions,  he  steadily  regarded  duty,  and  disregarded 
self.  Nor  were  opportunities  wanting,  of  which  a 
man  less  pure  might  be  tempted  to  profit.  The  dis- 
Zz  2 


534  WASHINGTON. 

content  of  his  unrequited  army  at  the  close  of  the 
contest,  might  have  deluded  a  less  devoted  patriot ; 
and  ambition  itself  could  not  desire  a  better  pretext 
for  urging  a  stronger  government  on  the  nation,  than 
the  resistance  to  the  law,  which  occurred  in  the 
powerful  State  of  Pennsylvania  so  soon  after  his 
election  to  the  presidency.  Perhaps  history  does 
not  record  an  instance  of  an  insurrection  which 
threatened  to  be  more  dangerous  to  infant  institu 
tions  than  this ;  and  it  is  certain  that  history  does 
not  record  an  instance  in  which  resistance  to  the 
laws  was  more  promptly,  and  at  a  less  expense  of 
blood,  subdued.  But  the  glory  of  Washington  is  to 
be  sought  in  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life  ;  in  the  bright 
example,  and  in  the  stern  lesson  of  virtue  that  he 
has  exhibited  to  the  age,  and  which  he  has  bequeath 
ed  to  posterity.  He  is  the  only  public  man,  since 
the  general  use  of  letters  has  rendered  communica 
tion  easy  and  judgments  critical,  that  has,  by  com 
mon  consent,  purchased  an  imperishable,  and,  what 
is  far  more  glorious,  an  unsullied  name. 

It  is  cheering  to  virtue  to  know  how  lasting  and 
more  certain  are  its  rewards,  than  the  temporary  and 
doubtful  fame  which  attends  the  mere  conqueror. 
In  what  but  the  accidental  attributes  of  a  more  ad 
vanced  state  of  civilization,  does  Napoleon  materially 
differ  from  Jenghis  Khan  ?  His  contemporaries  are 
already  treating  him  with  severity ;  and,  before  an 
other  age  is  passed,  and  passion  and  personal  antipa 
thies  shall  have  ceased,  his  career  will  lose  one-half 
of  its  lustre  by  the  active  agency  of  truth.  How 
different  has  been  the  lot  of  Washington  !  He  has 
not  yet  been  in  his  tomb  for  half  the  life  of  man,  and 
the  world  have  already  placed  him  at  the  side  of  the 
brightest  names  of  antiquity.  The  young,  and  the 
restless,  and  the  weak  of  mind,  may  still  find  matter 
of  applause  in  the  career  of  Napoleon ;  but  it  is  the 
thoughtful,  the  good,  and  the  experienced,  who  see 


WASHINGTON.  535 

the  most  to*  admire  in  the  deeds,  and  the  most  to 
reverence  in  the  character  of  Washington. 

Until  I  stood  by  the  side  of  the  grave  of  this  illus 
trious  man,  I  had  never  ceased  to  reproach  his  coun 
try  with  neglect,  in  not  having  reared  a  monument 
of  marble  to  his  memory.  But  as  I  lingered,  for 
near  an  hour,  about  the  humble  vault  which  holds 
his  remains,  it  was  impossible  not  to  feel  how  much 
stronger  is  the  impression  left  by  character,  in  a  place 
where  no  accessories  of  art  exist  to  distract  its  mus 
ings.  If  I  were  an  American,  it  would  be  the  wish 
nearest  to  my  heart  to  see  the  estate  of  Mount  Ver- 
non  pass  into  the  keeping  of  the  nation,  in  order  that 
it  might  be  preserved,  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  its 
present  condition.  The  vault  should  be  kept  in  the 
touching  and  peaceful  quiet  in  which  it  is  now  seen ; 
and  when  foreigners  ask  for  the  monument  of  their 
hero,  let  them  be  referred,  with  honest  pride,  to  that 
liberty,  and  to  those  institutions  which  grew  on  the 
confidence  of  the  world,  under  his  wise  and  patriotic 
guidance.  If  there  be  a  name  in  the  records  of  his 
tory  that  can  afford  to  stand  before  the  eyes  of  criti 
cism  devoid  of  artificial  aid,  it  is  that  of  the  man  who 
now  sleeps  beneath  a  few  stunted  cedars,  and  with 
in  mouldering  walls  of  brick,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac 


TO  THE  PROFESSOR  JANSEN, 


Philadelphia, 


CONGRESS  necessarily  rose  on  the  night  of  the  4th 
of  March.  You  must  have  learned  from  my  previous* 
letters,  that  a  Congress  lasts  but  two  years,  commenc 
ing  on  the  4th  of  March  of  one  year,  and  terminating 
on  the  3d  of  March  of  the  year  hut  one  following. 
Of  course  it  would  be  necessary  to  convene  the  new 
members,  in  order  to  proceed  in  legislation  after  the 
prescribed  period.  This  can  be,  and  has  been,  done, 
in  times  of  need,  but  the  usual  practice  is  to  let  the 
bodies  separate,  at  the  end  of  what  is  called  the 
"short  session."  The  terms  of  short  and  long  sessioo 
are  easily  explained.  The  constitution  requires  that 
Congress  should  assemble  on  the  first  Monday  in 
December  of  each  year,  unless  it  has  adjourned  to  a 
different  period,  or  is  expressly  convened  by  a  call 
from  the  President  On  the  first  year  of  the  service 
of  the  members,  it  is  plain  they  may  sit  as  long  as 
they  please;  but  on  the  second,  their  term  of  service 
expires  on  the  3d  of  March.  As  one-third  of  the 
Senators,  and  perhaps  about  the  same  number  of  the 
Representatives,  usually  retire  every  two  years,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  summon  those  who  supply 
their  places,  should  the  public  service  require  an 
immediate  continuation  of  the  legislative  duties.  The 
Senate  sometimes  sits  a  day  or  two  after  the  lower 
house  has  adjourned,  in  order  to  attend  to  what  is 
called  executive  business  (the  approval  of  nominations 
to  office.)  The  practice  is,  I  believe,  uniform,  at  the 
end  of  a  presidential  term,  in  order  to  give  the  new 
incumbent  an  opportunity  to  name  his  cabinet  In 


MR.    JEFFERSON.  537 

all  such  cases,  the  new  Senators  are  summoned  in 
time  to  attend.  Of  course,  no  legislative  business 
can  then  be  done. 

Late  on  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  March,  Congress 
rose ;  but,  in  point  of  fact,  the  change  of  executive 
power  was  not  made  until  the  President  elect  took 
the  oath  of  office.  This  ceremony  took  place  about 
noon  of  the  following  day.  In  1801,  wrhen  Mr. 
Adams,  the  elder,  went  out  of  office,  he  made  sundry 
nominations  which  were  confirmed  by  the  old  Sena 
tors  on  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  March.  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  his  successor,  refused  to  ratify  these  appoint 
ments.  He  took  the  ground  that,  as  President,  he 
had  the  power  to  appoint  to  office,  the  Senate  only 
possessing,  in  effect,  a  veto.  Now,  the  new  function 
aries  had  not  received  their  commissions,  and  no  one 
could,  constitutionally,  sign  them  but  the  actual  Presi 
dent;  this,  the  actual  President  refused  to  do,  and  of 
course  there  were  no  appointments,  since  it  is  by  no 
means  incumbent  on  the  President  to  appoint  an 
officer,  even  after  the  Senate  has  approved  of  his 
name,  the  power  of  the  latter  going  no  farther  than 
their  negative.  It  could  be  of  no  moment,  except  in 
the  appointment  of  a  judge,  whether  the  President 
appointed  these  officers  or  not,  since,  in  all  other 
cases,  he  possesses  the  power  of  removal,  the  com 
missions  invariably  running—"  this  commission  to 
continue  in  force  during  the  pleasure  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States  for  the  time  being." 

The  President  absolutely  appoints  certain  inferior 
officers  of  the  government,  such  as  midshipmen,  mas 
ters,  gunners,  &c.  &c.,  in  the  navy,  and  all  the  cadets 
that  enter  the  army;  but,  in  point  of  fact,  a  great  deal 
of  republican  equality  is  observed  in  the  distribution 
of  even  these  small  favours.  The  plan  is  to  give  to 
each  State  officers  in  proportion  to  its  representa* 
tivfes ;  still  the  absolute  selection  is  with  the  Presi 
dent.  All  the  postmasters  in  the  country,  who  are, 


538  APPOINTMENTS    TO    OFFICE. 

in  truth,  only  deputies  of  the  postmaster-general,  re 
ceive  their  commissions  from  the  latter  officer.  Of 
course  the  President,  who  can  at  any  time  remove 
the  postmaster-general,  has  a  controlling  voice  in  all 
the  superior  appointments  of  that  department.  The 
Secretaries  also  appoint  their  own  clerks,  and  there 
is  a  considerable  patronage  in  the  hands  of  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Treasury,  who  names  several  hundred 
officers,  in  the  different  custom-houses,  that  receive 
salaries  of  between  five  hundred  and  a  thousand  dol 
lars  each.  The  constitution  indicates  certain  officers 
who  shall  be  nominated  to  the  Senate.  It  then  goes 
on  to  say,  that  all  others  must  be  similarly  appointed, 
unless  Congress,  by  law,  shall  see  fit  to  trust  the 
power  in  the  President,  or  in  the  heads  of  depart 
ments.  As  yet,  Congress  has  seen  fit  to  do  both  ;  but 
should  the  trusts  be  abused,  it  always  possesses  the 
power  to  repeal  its  own  enactments. 

A  great  deal  is  said  in  Europe  concerning  the  econ 
omy  of  this  government.  It  is  the  subject  of  much 
ridicule,  and  of  high  praise,  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
In  order  to  form  a  just  opinion  on  the  subject,  it  is 
necessary  to  ascertain  some  of  the  leading  facts. 

You  will  always  remember,  that  as  there  exists  a 
double  form  of  government,  there  are  double  sets  of 
officers  to  be  paid.  This  circumstance,  however, 
does  not  add  in  any  great  degree  to  the  expense, 
since  no  duty  is  performed  twice.  The  President  of 
the  United  States  receives  a  salary  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  This  sum  can  neither  be 
increased  nor  diminished  during  his  term  of  service. 
He  is  also  supplied  with  a  furnished  house.  On  this 
salary  the  President  can  live  like  a  gentleman  who 
receives  a  good  deal  of  company,  and  it  is  thought  he 
may  even  lay  by  a  reasonable  excess  yearly.  Per 
haps,  considering  the  nature  of  the  government,  the 
income  is  about  what  it  should  be.  The  heads  of 
departments  receive  six  thousand  dollars  each,  and 


SALARIES.  539 

no  house.  Their  salaries  are  too  low,  since  they 
scarcely  afford  the  means  of  creditable  subsistence  to 
men  in  their  public  situations.  It  is  probable,  how 
ever,  that  the  country  will,  ere  long,  erect  buildings 
for  the  residence  of  these  officers,  and  increase  their 
pay  a  little.  There  is  no  plausible  reason  why  it 
should  be  so  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  President. 
The  chief  justice  of  the  United  States  receives  five 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  each  of  the  assistant  jus 
tices  four  thousand  five  hundred.  The  judges  of  the 
district  courts  are  paid  from  eight  hundred  to  three 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  according  to  the  amount 
of  their  services.  The  Vice-President  gets  five  thou 
sand  dollars  a  year.  The  members  of  Congress  re 
ceive  eight  dollars  a  day,  each,  while  at  Washington, 
and  eight  dollars  for  every  twenty  miles  of -their  route 
in  going  and  returning.  Ministers  plenipotentiary 
receive  nine  thousand  dollars  a  year  salary,  the  same 
sum  for  an  outfit,  and  one-fourth  of  it  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  their  return  home.  This  pay  is  much 
too  small,  certainly ;  and  it  is  as  unwise  in  its  gene 
rality,  as  in  its  amount.  It  is  unjust  to  pay  a  man 
who  is  compelled  to  live  in  London,  for  instance, 
the  same  sum  as  a  man  who  is  compelled  to  live  in 
Madrid.  It  is  unwise  to  neglect  to  use,  in  a  rational 
degree,  an  influence  that  other  people  acknowledge, 
whatever  may  be  its  inherent  merit,  or  whatever 
may  be  the  opinion  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  themselves  on  the  subject.  Their  motive  in 
sending  ministers  abroad,  is  interest:  and  we,  who 
know  the  effect  of  a  little  appearance  in  our  hemi 
sphere,  know  that  he  is  a  gainer  who  consults  the 
prejudices  of  those  with  whom  he  is  required  to 
dwell.  But  independently  of  this  truth,  which  must, 
however,  be  taken  with  a  proper  degree  of  qualifica 
tion,  in  many  places,  the  agents  of  this  government 
cannot  subsist  with  a  proper  degree  of  comfort  on 
their  salaries.  No  man  can  maintain  the  establish- 


540  SALARIES. 

ment  of  a  private  gentleman  and  educate  four  or  five 
children  well,  on  two  thousand  pounds  a  year,  in 
London.  Consuls  receive  no  pay  (as  such.)  The 
collectors  of  the  customs  are  paid  in  proportion  to 
their  duties,  limiting  the  receipts  to  less  than  five 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  A  similar  plan  is  observed 
with  postmasters,  and  sundry  other  officers ;  the 
maximum  of  pay  varying  according  to-  the  impor 
tance  of  the  office.  Although  the  higher  functionaries 
of  this  government  are  not  often  paid  as  well  as  they 
should  be,  the  lower  officers  are  very  generally  wel! 
rewarded.  Salaries  of  two  or  three  thousand  dollars, 
for  situations  of  no  great  dignity,,  are  not  uncommon, 
and  there  are  many  subordinates  who  receive  from 
eight  to  twelve  hundred.  In  short,  the  object,  though 
it  sometimes  fails,  is  to  make  all  classes  of  men  com 
fortable,  without  furnishing  the  means  of  a  useless 
splendour  to  any.  The  errors  that  have  undoubtedly 
been  made,  are  the  unavoidable  results  of  a  popular 
government  in  which  official  men  are  sometimes  re 
luctant  to  incur  a  responsibility  that  leads  to  no  very 
important  results.  1  think  that  time  will  correct 
them ;  and,  should  it  not,  the  evil  is  one  of  far  less 
magnitude  than  that  which  is  entailed  by  a  lavish 
expenditure  of  the  public  money. 

The  whole  of  the  civil,  diplomatic,  and  miscella 
neous  expenses  of  this  government,  for  the  year  1 826, 
were  2,600,177  dollars.  This  is,  however,,  exclusive 
of  the  cost  of  the  State  governments,  and  the  cost  of 
collecting  the  revenue.  The  lattee  is  about  750,000> 
dollars.  The  military  expenditure  was  6,243,236 
dollars.  But  the  greater  part  of  this  sum  was  for  the 
erection  of  fortifications,  for  ordnance,  arming  the 
militia,  Indian  department,  and  pensions  of  soldiers 
of  the  revolution,  &c.  The  actual  cost  of  the  army,, 
pay,  subsistence  and  clothing  included,  was  about 
2,000,000  of  dollars.  That  so  extensive  a  country 
can  protect  itself  at  so  cheap  a  rate,  is  in  some 


EXPENSE    OF    GOVERNMENT.  541 

measure  owing  to  its  remote  situation,  but  chiefly  to 
its  institutions,  which  trust  its  defence  to  the  citi 
zens.  A  vast  deal  is  clearly  gained,  by  thus  limiting 
resistance  to  its  foreign  enemies.  I  do  not  think  that 
the  pressure  of  a  crowded  population  can  produce  any 
material  difference,  since  the  present  system  of  Amer 
ica  must  ever  make  it  the  interest  of  a  great  majority 
to  preserve  order.  A  soldier  in  the  army  receives 
five  dollars  a  month  pay,  with  his  clothes  and  victuals. 
The  officers  are  paid  according  to  rank.*  The  other 
expenses  of  the  army  are  of  a  temporary  nature,  and 
furnish  no  clue  to  future  estimates. 

The  navy  of  the  United  States,  for  the  same  year 
(1826)  cost  4,212,902  dollars.  But  this  sum  is  also 
liable  to  a  great  deal  of  explanation.  The  United 
States,  to  be  in  readiness  to  meet  any  emergency, 
maintain  a  corps  of  about  950  officers.  Their  pres 
ent  policy  is  to  foster  this  corp-s,  and  consequently  no 
one  member  of  it  is  put  on  half-pay,  except  at  his 
own  desire.  The  pay  and  subsistence  of  the  officers, 
and  the  pay  of  the  men,  actually  afloat  (rather  more 
than  5,000  in  all,)  somewhat  exceeds  a  million  of 
dollars.  In  this  number,  too,  about  one-tenth  are 
quarter-deck  officers.  Much  of  the  money  is  for  the 
expenses  of  navy-yards,  and  the  ordinary.  About 
300,000  dollars  are  for  the  provisions  of  the  men. 
The  rest  is  for  the  increase  of  the  navy,  arrearages, 
and  for  the  support  of  the  marine  corps,  of  whom 

*  A  soldier  enlists  for  five  years.  He  receives  the  following 
articles  of  clothing  during  that  period,  viz.  five  uniform  coats; 
three  cotton  jackets  with  sleev-es ;  three  woollen  ditto  ditto ; 
ten  pairs  of  gray  woollen  overalls ;  ten  pairs  of  drilling  ditto ; 
three  fatigue  frocks ;  five  trowsers ;  ten  pairs  of  laced  boots ; 
ten  ditto  shoes  ;  ten  flannel  shirts :  ten  cotton  ditto  ;  ten  pairs 
of  stockings ;  ten  ditto  socks ;  two  leathern  stocks ;  one  great 
coat ;  three  blankets ;  five  pairs  of  wings ;  four  pompons ;  two 
cockades  and  eagles;  four  bands  and  tassels ;  one  leathern  cap- 
cover,  plate,  scales  and  ball ;  one  forage-cap,  and  ten  pairs  of 
flannel  drawers. 

3  A 


542  EMOLUMENTS  OF  THE  OFFICERS,  ETC. 

nearly  1,000  are  employed.  The  latter  are,  of  course, 
in  addition  to  the  sea  officers  and  seamen.  It  would 
be  troublesome  to  separate  the  several  parts  of  these 
expenditures  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  a  clear  and 
simple  statement  of  each  and  all  of  them;  but  as  the 
American  government  publishes  the  most  minute 
documents  on  these  subjects,  it  is  in  the  power  of  any 
one  to  do  it  who  has  sufficient  interest  in  the  subject 
to  pursue  so  elaborate  an  inquiry.  I  shall  content  my 
self  with  the  m-iin  results,  coupled  with  such  facts  of 
a  general  nature,  as  I  think  may  reward  you  for  the 
pain  of  deciphering  my  letters.* 

*  In  the  January  number  (LXXIII.)  of^the  Quarterly  Re 
view,  there  is  an  article  on  the  United  State's  of  America.  The 
reviewer  speaks  boldly  of  the  American  navy,  for  he  professes 
to  treat  of  a  work  written  by  an  English  naval  officer,  who,  in 
his  turn,  had  also  written  a  little  decidedly  on  the  same  subject. 
In  a  note  attached  to  the  end  of  this  volume,  the  writer  has  en 
deavoured  to  show  in  what  points  his  information  differs  from 
that  of  both  reviewer  and  reviewed,  in  respect  to  this  important 
branch  of  the  American  policy.  His  present  object  is,  how 
ever,  confined  to  expenditure.  In  page  279  of  the  said  Review, 
is  the  following  sentence:  "With  this  small  number  of  men" 
(4,268,)  "  the  establishments  of  the  dock-yards  on  a  very  limited 
scale,  and  the  civil  branches  of  the  service,  a  mere  trifle,  the 
sum  expended  for  the  naval  department  in  1826,  was  4,222,952 
dollars,  or  close  upon  one  million  sterling.  In  the  printed 
report  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  now  before  the  writer, 
Letter  F.  page  39,  is  a  minute  statement  of  the  expenditure  of 
the  naval  establishment  for  the  year  1826.  The  gross  amount 
is  4,218,902  dollars,  45  cents.  From  this  Report  the  following 
items  are  extracted :  "  Repairs  of  vessels,  485,970 ;  ship-nouses, 
44,296 ;  gradual  increase  of  the  navy,  793,704 ;  ten  sloops  of 
war,  506,163;  prohibition  of  slave  trade,  22,220;  pay  and  sub 
sistence  of  marine  corps  (which  is  not  included  in  the  before 
mentioned  number  of  men,)  219,686 :"  and  no  less  a  sum  than 
294,380  for  improvements  and  additions  to  navy-yards,  besides 
a  number  of  small  miscellaneous  items,  that  make  together 
about  110,000  more.  The  figures  are  all  meant  to  represent 
dollars,  and  together  they  make  2,576,419,  or  something  more 
than  one-half  the  sum  that  the  reviewer  has  taken  for  premises 
by  which  he  wishes  to  show  that  the  Americans  maintain  a 
small  force  at  an  enormous  expense.  Not  one  of  the  items  here 
enumerated,  properly  belongs  to  the  expense  of  the  small 
number  of  men,  the  civil  branches  of  the  service,  or  the  estab 
lishments  of  the  dock-yards,  unless  additions  and  improvements 


EXPENSE  OF  GOVERNMENT.  543 

All  the  appointments  of  a  captain  of  the  navy,  in 
command  of  a  shore  station,  are  worth  something  less 
than  four  thousand  dollars  a  year,  exclusive  of  a 
house.  When  in  command  of  a  vessel,  his  pay  is 
considerably  less.  There  is  a  difference  made  in  the 
case  of  a  vessel  of  a  very  small  size,  though  the  com 
mander  of  a  44  receives  as  much  as  the  commander 
of  a  74.  But  the  pay  of  both  the  army  and  navy 
should  not  be  considered  as  permanently  established, 
especially  of  the  latter  service,  which  is  just  beginning 
to  receive,  in  all  its  branches,  that  grave  attention  that 
its  vital  importance  to  the  security  and  dignity  of  the 
nation  demands. 

You  will  perceive  that,  as  a  rule,  the  inferior 
agents  of  the  American  government  are  better  paid 
than  the  same  description  of  individuals  in  the  em 
ployment  of  almost  any  other  nation,  while  the  higher 
officers  receive  less.* 

The  positive  annual  expenses  of  the  American 
government  are  not  far  from  13,000,000  dollars.  Of 
this  sum,  rather  more  than  three  millions  and  a  half 
are  for  the  interest  of  the  national  debt.  But  the  odd 
half  million  is  met  by  the  dividends  of  bank  stock, 
for  the  purchase  of  which  several  millions  of  the 

to  the  latter  can  be  thus  considered.  Independently  of  all  this, 
the  balance  not  only  supports  the  service  afloat,  Sic.  &c.  but  it 
keeps  all  the  officers  of  the  navy  (with  perhaps  a  dozen  volun 
tary  exceptions)  on  full  pay.  The  writer  here  leaves  the  mat 
ter  between  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  contributor  to  the  Quarterly  Review. — See  Note  A.. 
end  of  the  volume. 

*  The  expenditure  for  the  year  1828,  is  estimated  as  follows : 
the  result  rarely  differing  materially  from  these  calculations. 
Civil,  diplomatic,  and  miscellaneous,  1,828,385  dollars;  mili 
tary  service,  including  fortifications,  ordnance,  Indian  depart 
ment,  provisions,  arming  of  militia,  &c.  4,332,091  dollars; 
naval  service,  including  the  gradual  increase  of  the  navy, 
3,788,349  dollars,  making  a  total  for  the  regular  expenses  of  the 
government,  including  sums  previously  voted  for  erecting  forts 
and  building  ships,  of  9,947,125  dollars.  The  interest  of  the  debt 
is  not  contained  in.  this  amount. 


544  EXPENSES    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

debt  were  created.  The  actual  outgoings,  there 
fore,  for  the  current  service  of  the  country,  all  im 
provements  and  constructions  included,  are  within 
10,000,000  dollars.  Every  thing  is  so  much  on  the 
advance  in  the  United  States,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
arrive  at  an  exact  understanding  of  what  is  meant  by 
current  expenditure.  Thus,  of  2,600,177  dollars, 
which  formed  the  amount  of  the  civil,  miscellaneous 
and  diplomatic  head  of  the  account  (for  the  year 
1826,)  near  1,200,000  dollars  were  miscellaneous 
enough,  as  the  charges  included  188,000  dollars  for 
light-houses,  near  300,000  for  canal  stock,  and  more 
than  200,000  for  old  claims  arising  out  of  the  war  of 
1812.  The  real  civil  list  of  that  year,  exclusive  of 
diplomacy,  was  1,256,745  dollars,  and  the  cost  of  all 
the  diplomacy  of  the  country  was  180,103  dollars. 
This  trifling  sum  supported  the  whole  expense  and 
contingencies,  in  short,  the  entire  cost  of  more  than 
twenty  different  missions  in  Europe,  Africa,  and  Amer 
ica.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  diplomacy  of 
this  country  is  managed  about  as  well  as  that  of  most 
nations ;  and  I  am  of  opinion,  that,  when  its  power 
shall  become  sufficiently  great  to  be  dreaded,  it  will 
be  found  to  be  still  more  successful. 

The  clear  revenue  of  the  United  States,  from  the 
customs  alone,  is  now  (1828)  about  20,000,000  of 
dollars.  As  this  source  of  receipts  produces  in  itself 
a  great  excess  over  all  the  outgoings,  there  are  no 
direct  impositions  laid  by  the  general  government. 
The  debt  is  in  the  course  of  rapid  extinguishment, 
and  as  the  interest  is  annually  diminished,  the  ability 
of  the  country  to  increase  its  expenditure  is  of  course 
increased.  Notwithstanding  this  prosperous  state  of 
the  public  purse,  the  most  rigid  economy  is  observed; 
a  circumstance  that  it  is  idle  to  say  is  produced  by 
any  other  cause  than  the  direct  agency  of  the  people 
on  the  administration. 

Thus  far  we  have  not  touched  on  the  salaries  of 


EXPENSES    OF    GOVERNMENT.  545 

the  State  governments  at  all.  They  are  graduated, 
however,  on  the  same  scale  of  expense,  the  richest 
and  largest  of  these  communities  rarely  paying  as 
much  to  the  public  servants  as  the  general  govern 
ment.  There  is  undoubtedly,  in  some  few  instances, 
as  in  the  legislatures  and  judiciaries,  a  double  set  of 
officers  to  support ;  but,  when  one  remembers  the 
great  extent  of  the  country,  it  will  be  seen  that,  under 
any  other  form  of  government,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  avoid  this  expense.  No  single  set  of  judges  could 
travel  over  this  great  surface  in  times  sufficiently 
short  to  administer  justice  equally  and  promptly,  nor 
could  one  great  and  central  legislative  body  enact  all 
the  local  laws  that  are  absolutely  necessary  to  a 
country  so  new  and  so  vast. 

The  only  reply  that  the  enemies  of  America  (and 
they  are  all  the  enemies  of  liberty)  can  urge,  when 
her  example  is  pointed  to  in  support  of  the  doctrine 
of  economy,  is  founded  on  the  fact  of  the  double  form 
of  its  government,  and  the  additional  expense  that  is 
consequently  incurred.  I  know  of  but  two  ways  in 
which  we  can  arrive  sufficiently  near  the  truth  to 
ascertain  whether  this  additional  cost  raises  the  ex 
penses  of  the  American  to  the  level  of  those  of  the 
European  or  not.  The  one  (and  is  it  not  infallible  ?) 
is  to  compare  the  amount  of  contributions  paid  by  the 
parties ;  and  the  other  is  to  attempt  to  reach  the  cost  of 
governing  some  particular  portion  of  the  confederacy, 
and  then  to  make  the  necessary  comparisons  between 
it  and  some  equal  community  in  our  hemisphere. 
We  will  endeavour  to  do  both. 

The  State  of  New- York  contains  one-seventh  of 
the  entire  population  of  the  Union.  One-seventh 
of  "2,600,177  dollars,  the  whole  amount  of  the  "  civil, 
diplomatic,  and  miscellaneous  expenses'"  of  the  gene 
ral  government  for  the  year  (182G)  is  37  J  ,453.  This 
dividend  includes  more  than  one  million  of  miscella 
neous  expenditure,  such  as  "  light-houses,"  "  stock  in 
3  A  2 


546  EXPENSES    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

canal  companies,"  and  "  payment  of  claims  for  build 
ings  destroyed  in  the  war;1'  but  no  matter,  we  will 
take  the  amount  in  gross.  Now  the  whole  expendi 
ture  of  the  civil  list  of  the  State  of  New-York,  is  about 
350,000  dollars.  The  two  sums  make  721,453  dol 
lars.  Here  you  have  1 ,700,000  inhabitants  receiving 
justice  at  their  own  doors,  internal  protection,  legis 
lation  in  the  utmost  convenient  form  possible,  and  all 
the  more  general  advantages  of  government,  for  the 
sum  of  less  than  half  a  dollar  a  head  annually.  If  you 
divide  the  military  and  naval  expenses  of  the  United 
States  by  seven,  you  have  the  entire  pecuniary  charge 
that  they  defray,  not  only  for  the  current  expenses, 
but  for  the  material  provisions  they  are  making  for 
future  defence.*  The  States  are  at  no  other  mate 
rial  expenses  than  those  attached  to  the  civil  list, 
unless  it  be  for  the  purpose  of  domestic  improve 
ments,  and  even  a  great  portion  of  the  latter  is  thus 
defrayed,  in  the  salaries  of  the  employes. 

Of  incidental  expenses  the  American  pays  less, 
considering  his  means,  than  the  inhabitant  of  any 
other  nation.  Their  city  corporations,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  one  or  two,  are  cheap,  and  little  or  no 
money  is  expended  in  mere  show.  There  are  no 
church  establishments,  and  the  religious  contributions 
are  therefore  voluntary.  Still  the  clergy  are  support 
ed.  There  are  various  manners  of  doing  this,  as  you 
may  suppose,  in  a  country  so  diversified  in  condition. 
In  many  of  the  old  congregations,  there  are  endow- 
m<  nts  which  have  grown  in  value  with  the  growth 
of  the  country,  and  which  now  serve  to  relieve  the 
people  of  a  large  portion  of  the  expense.  A  farm 
bought  for  that  purpose,  and  a  house  erected  when 
land  and  materials  were  cheap,  become  valuable  and 
useful  in  time.  There  is  a  common  practice  of 

*  It  should  be  remembered  that  all  the  expenses  of  the  gene 
ral  government  (in  time  of  peace ^  are  paid  by  the  importation 
duties. 


EXPENSES    OF    GOVERNMENT.  547 

erecting  a  church  by  contributions,  and  then  renting 
the  pews,  for  the  support  of  the  clergyman.  No 
general  rule  is,  however,  applicable  to  this  particular 
branch  of  expense ;  but  as  no  one  taxes  himself  be 
yond  his  own  pleasure,  and  as  churches  are,  for  the 
circumstances,  exceedingly  numerous,  it  is  fair  to 
presume  that  the  population  do  not  find  the  expense 
of  supporting  the  clergy  burthensome.  Trifling  ad 
ditional  taxes  are  also  laid  in  the  counties  and  towns 
to  defray  local  expenses,  and,  among  others,  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  common  schools.  These  taxes 
also  vary  according  to  circumstances,  the  county 
which  is  building  a  court-house  and  jail,  or  which  is 
engaged  in  any  other  public  work,  paying  more  at 
the  moment  than  the  county  which  has  already  dis 
charged  that  duty.  The  whole  tax  paid  on  a  farm 
valued  at  5,000  dollars  in  one  of  the  older  counties 
of  New- York,  was  five  dollars.  This  included  every 
charge  for  that  year,  though  the  assessment  is  subject 
to  variations,  being  sometimes  more  and  sometimes 
less.  As  the  United  States,  in  point  of  fact,  imposes 
no  taxes  in  time  of  peace,  this  charge  was  all  the 
owner  of  this  farm  had  to  pay  (as  such)  for  the  entire 
protection  of  government.  It  is  true  he  contributed 
something  in  the  way  of  duties  on  imported  goods, 
but  that  is  a  contribution  that  depended  entirely  on 
his  personal  expenditure.  The  impositions  of  the 
general  government  are,  as  you  already  know,  com 
monly  much  lighter  than  those  laid  in  other  commer 
cial  nations. 

In  order  to  make  a  correct  estimate,  however,  of 
the  comparative  rate  of  the  taxes  paid  by  the  Amer 
ican,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  value  of  what  he 
receives.  He  is  required  to  pay  for  improvements 
in  the  country,  which  produce  a  direct  influence  on 
the  increasing  value  of  his  property.  The  income 
and  the  price  of  his  farm  keep  equal  pace  with  the 
growth  of  the  settlement  in  which  he  lives.  He  en- 


548         EXPENSES  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

joys  the  means  of  giving  a  creditable  education  to  hia 
children,  within  a  reasonable  distance  of  his  own 
dwelling,  and  all  for  the  sum  included  in  the  State 
tax,  if  the  cost  of  school-books,  paper,  &c.  be  ex- 
cepted.  He  is  certainly  compelled  to  devote  more 
or  less  of  his  time  to  working  the  highways,*  but 
then  he  takes  care  that  the  route  by  his  own  door 
shall  be  kept  in  as  good  order  as  that  by  the  door  of 
any  body  else. 

As  a  whole,  the  public  impositions  in  America, 
including  taxes,  duties,  labour,  militia  service,  clergy, 
and  every  thing  else,  are  exceedingly  light  But  it 
is  absolutely  impossible  to  give  any  particular  exam 
ple  which  shall  not  be  liable  to  so  much  exception 
as  to  destroy  it  as  a  rule.  So  much  of  the  contribu 
tion  is  returned  in  the  way  of  improvements  which 
affect  the  value  of  the  property  taxed,  that,  had  I  all 
the  statements  in  my  head,  I  do  not  know  that  I 
.could  give  you  a  clear  idea  of  their  relative  amount. 
All  those  local  impositions  which  exist  in  other  coun 
tries,  as  octrois,  &c.  &c.  are  utterly  unknown  here. 

I  have  heard  it  imputed  to  America  as  a  fault,  that 
her  system  leads  to  the  loss  of  time  and  money  in 
excessive  litigation.  It  is  said  that  there  are  more 
suits  at  law  here,  than  among  any  similar  number  of 
people  in  the  known  world.  Although  I  cannot  pre 
tend  to  say  that  the  fact  is  so,  I  should  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  it  was  otherwise. 

The  whole  territory  of  the  United  States  covers 
2,000,000  of  square  miles.  It  is  true  that  the  title 
to  more  than  half  of  this  immense  surface  still  exists 
in  the  government,  where  a  vast  deal  of  it  will  prob 
ably  continue  for  ages.  But,  in  order  to  bring  our 


*  This  imposition  is  laid  according  to  the  property  of  the 
individual.  A  commutation  in  money  at  a  very  reduced  rate 
is  allowed,  but  it  is  impossible  to  give  its  amount,  since  it  is 
an  assessment  that  diminishes  with  the  improvement  of  the 
country. 


AMOUNT  OF  LITIGATION.  549 

calculations  within  the  bounds  of  exactitude,  let  us 
again  look  at  New- York.  This  State  has  46,000 
square  miles  of  territory,  which  is  owned  among,  we 
will  say  (1828,)  1,750,000  people.  Now,  to  every 
foot  of  this  land  there  is  a  title  somewhere.  Very 
little,  indeed,  is  the  property  of  the  State.  Here, 
then,  is  a  plain  and  direct  resaon  why  the  1,750,000 
inhabitants  should  have  more  questions  about  land 
titles  than  the  same  number  any  where  else,  simply 
because  they  are  the  owners  of  more  of  the  article 
in  dispute.  Land  is  also  greatly  subdivided  in  all  the 
older  parts  of  America,  and  of  course  each  subdivi 
sion  has  its  separate  title.  Then  the  rapid  transfer 
of  property  which  is  incidental  to  the  condition  of  a 
country  in  progress  of  settlement,  multiplies  convey 
ances,  and  each  new  conveyance  opens  the  way  to 
litigation.  The  revolution,  with  its  changes,  also 
gave  birth  to  disputes  which  time  is  just  beginning  to 
settle,  as  indeed  it  is  beginning  to  settle  all  other  con 
troversies  that  grow  exclusively  out  of  the  transfers 
of  real  estates. 

The  United  States  are,  again,  a  more  commercial 
nation,  compared  with  their  population,  than  any 
other  in  the  world.  Among  such  a  people  legal  dis 
putes  must,  of  necessity,  arise.  Justice  is  compara 
tively  cheap,  and  easy  of  access.  Men  have  confi 
dence  in  her  decrees ;  and  the  fear  of  power,  influ 
ence,  and  corruption,  is  unknown.  In  such  circum 
stances,  wrong-headed  persons,  who  are  ever  apt  to 
fancy  themselves  in  the  right,  make  their  appeals  to 
the  tribunals  boldly.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  sys 
tem  of  the  United  States  encourages  litigation,  ex 
cept  as  it  brings  all  men  before  the  court  on  terms 
not  of  nominal,  but -of  a  true  equality.  Still  I  can 
believe,  that  the  great  number  of  low  practitioners 
of  the  law  who  are  scattered  up  and  down  the  coun 
try,  do  induce  men  to  enter  rashly  into  legal  contests. 


550  REASONS   OF  LITIGATION. 

In  the  older  and  more  regulated  States,  litigation  is 
far  less  frequent,  cceteris  paribus,  than  in  those  that 
are  more  new.  The  same  is  true  of  the  proportion 
of  taxes,  as  compared  to  the  value  of  property.  I 
am  of  opinion  that,  were  it  not  for  the  great  number 
of  country  lawyers  in  America,  it  would  be  found 
that  litigation  is  less  resorted  to  than  in  many  other 
countries,  notwithstanding  the  unavoidable  causes  of 
contention  which  exist  in  a  new  country.  The  num 
ber  of  the  lawyers  is  undeniably  an  evil ;  but,  besides 
being  an  evil  which  is  likely  to  correct  itself,  and 
which  is  already  beginning  to  correct  itself,  it  is  one 
that  is  not  without  its  advantages.  They  serve  to 
keep  alive  an  active  knowledge  of  their  rights  among 
the  people ;  and  although  much  abused  as  pettifog 
gers,  they  make,  in  common,  exceedingly  useful  and 
intelligent  local  legislators. 

There  is  a  great  fashion  of  decrying  men  of  mod 
erate  acquirements  in  all  things,  as  if  life  were  not 
more  a  matter  of  experience  than  of  theories.  It  is 
much  easier  to  assume  than  to  prove,  that  a  set  of 
profound  thinkers  would  legislate  better  for  a  com 
munity  than  a  set  of  active  and  half-educated  men, 
who  are  familiar  with  the  practices  of  the  world. 
All  the  common  passions  of  man  are  as  well,  and 
perhaps  better  known  to  the  latter  than  to  the  former, 
and  after  legislation  has  provided  against  the  dangers 
that  are  coincident  to  their  existence,  one  must  seek 
the  rest  of  its  duties  in  the  world  and  not  in  books. 
But  what  says  experience  ?  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  any  one  country  on  earth  in  which  the  laws  are 
better  adapted  to  promote  the  true  interests  of  the 
community,  than  in  the  most,  I  am  not  sure  I  could 
not  say  the  least,  favoured  of  the  States  of  this  re 
public.  And  yet  legislation  is  the  business  of  prac 
tical  men  altogether.  At  all  events,  they  have  con 
trived  to  obtain  quiet  and  security  at  a  cheaper  rate 


EXPENCES  OF  GOVERNMENT,  ETC.     551 

than  other  people,  and  that,  too,  in  many  cases  under 
all  the  unpropitious  circumstances  of  great  dispersion 
and  the  first  stages  of  society. 

It  is  a  rule  which  applies  to  all  salaries  in  this 
country,  that  little  or  no  allowances  are  made  for  the 
support  of  mere  dignity.  The  dignity  of  government 
is  supposed  to  rest  in  the  people  themselves ;  and 
among  their  other  provisions  for  its  support,  they 
have  taken  care  to  retain  most  of  the  money.  The 
President  receives  a  larger  sum  certainly  than  is  ne 
cessary  for  his  mere  subsistence ;  but  then  the  Presi 
dent  is  liable  to  a  vast  number  of  expenses  that  other 
functionaries  escape ;  and,  in  his  case,  it  is  thought 
politic  to  bid  a  little  higher  than  common,  in  order 
to  command  talent.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  if  a  prudent  man, 
can  save  quite  as  much  money  out  of  his  salary,  each 
year,  as  a  first-rate  lawyer  in  practice  would  gain ; 
and  I  confess  I  see  but  one  reason  why  he  has  the 
smallest  right  to  ask  any  more.  He  has  generally 
reached  a  time  of  life  when  he  retires,  that  forbids 
further  exertion  ;  and  perhaps  it  is  wisest  to  attach  a 
degree  of  consideration  to  this  high  office,  which  shall 
preclude  men  from  descending  subsequently  to  infe 
rior  duties.  The  latter  point,  however,  is  one  that 
will  certainly  admit  of  dispute,  and  I  do  not  think  the 
former  as  strong  as  it  first  appears.  Necessity  will 
teach  men  the  value  of  prudence  and  exertion  in 
early  life ;  nor  is  this  the  country  that  ought  to  wish 
to  see  its  chief  magistrate  setting  an  example  of  use 
less,  but  attractive  splendour.  There  are  no  vices 
so  contagious  as  the  corruptions  which  flow  from  the 
excessive  use  of  money ;  for  the  desire  to  possess  it, 
is  a  passion  that  all  men  feel,  since  it  is  the  medium 
by  which  all  the  ordinary  good  of  life  is  obtained. 
The  accountableness  .  af  the  public  agents,  and  the 
simplicity  of  men  of  station,  are  matters  of  so  vast 
importance  in  a  republic,  that  the  one  should  never 


552        GRATITUDE  TO  LA  FAYETTE. 

be  neglected,  and  as  little  occasion  as  possible  should 
be  given  to  make  any  serious  innovations  on  the 
other. 

We  have  just  had  a  proof  that  the  government  of 
the  United  States  knows  how  to  give  with  grace  and 
liberality  on  a  proper  occasion.  When  La  Fayette 
first  came  to  America,  he  did  not  proceed  on  his  dis 
tant  and  hazardous  expedition  empty-handed.  The 
new  States  were  then  so  poor,  and  they  had  been 
kept,  by  the  operation  of  colonial  policy,  so  com 
pletely  dependent  on  the  mother  country  for  supplies, 
that  the  contributions  of  an  individual  were  not  with 
out  moment  to  them.  The  arms  and  money  of  the 
young  Frenchman  were  scarcely  less  acceptable  than 
his  sword  and  his  heart.  They  had  amply  returned 
his  love ;  but  it  still  remained  to  discharge  a  debt 
whose  obligations  were  scarcely  less  sacred. 

During  the  last  session,  a  bill  was  introduced,  ap 
propriating  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  money, 
and  a  township  of  land,  to  extinguish  this  debt.  It 
was  not  pretended  that  the  money  borrowed,  or 
rather  given  (for  the  devotion  of  La  Fayette  to  the 
cause  he  had  espoused  knew  none  of  the  forms  of 
bargaining)  had  not  been  already  returned.  But  the 
Americans  know  that  their  venerable  friend  has  long 
been  a  heavy  sufferer  by  the  revolution  in  his  own 
country,  and  they  also  know  that  he  took  little  ac 
count  of  the  pecuniary  interests  of  this  life.  The 
bill  was  not  passed  in  enthusiasm,  and  with  the  hurry 
of  dramatic  effect,  but  it  went  through  the  forms  of 
legislation  with  calmness  and  dignity.  It  was  even 
resisted  by  one  or  two  sturdy  republicans,  who  paid 
a  tribute  to  the  manliness  of  the  nation,  by  openly 
contending  that,  as  the  infirm  and  poorer  agents  of 
the  revolution  were  still  unrequited,  they  could  no 
vote  to  bestow  money  on  another,  for  services  that 
were  performed  in  common.  But  a  vast  majority  of 
the  two  houses  were  of  opinion  that  injustice  to  a  part 


GRATITUDE    TO    LA    FAYETTE.  553 

was  no  apology  for  injustice  to  the  whole,  and  the 
case  before  them  was  one  of  too  disinterested  and 
too  brilliant  service  to  admit  of  a  parallel. 

The  claims  of  La  Fayette  on  America,  cannot, 
surely,  be  likened  to  the  claims  of  even  Washington. 
The  immortal  patriot  of  this  country  owed  his  alle 
giance,  his  services,  and  his  life,  to  the  land  of  his 
birth;  and  his  exceeding  merit  is  in  the  faith  and 
ability  with  which  he  discharged  the  duties.  But 
nature  had  imposed  no  such  obligation  on  La  Fay 
ette.  We  may  admire  and  extol  the  filial  piety  of  the 
child  in  its  degree ;  but  without  it,  altogether,  the 
offspring  would  become  a  reproach  and  a  subject  of 
scorn  before  mankind.  The  stranger  who  yields  his 
aid  under  the  influence  of  a  general  philanthropy,  is 
alone  entitled  to  deep  and  unqualified  gratitude,  since 
the  universal  obligations  of  society  create  indissoluble 
connexions  between  the  members  of  families  and 
the  citizens  of  the  same  communities. 

But  there  was  still  a  loftier  claim,  in  the  case  of 
La  Fayette,  to  the  homage  of  a  nation.  His  devo 
tion  to  the  cause  of  America  was  a  devotion  to  the 
interests  of  humanity.  The  service  he  performed 
was  chivalrous  in  its  conception,  bold  in  its  moral 
attributes,  and  fearless  in  its  execution.  He  dedicated 
youth,  person,  and  fortune,  to  the  principles  of  lib 
erty  ;  and  it  was  fitting  that  an  example  should  be 
given  to  the  world,  that  he  who  had  suffered  in  such 
a  cause  was  not  to  go  unrequited.  In  this  view  of 
the  case,  it  was  just  as  incumbent  on  the  Frenchman 
to  receive,  as  it  wras  the  duty  of  the  American  to 
bestow  At  a  time  when  the  servants  of  despotism 
and  abject  submission  are  receiving  such  ample  gifts 
for  the;r  devotion,  it  is  encouraging  to  see  one  splen 
did  instance,  at  least,  of  virtue,  and  disinterestedness, 
and  patient  suffering,  receiving  a  portion  of  the 
worldly  rewards  that  should  be  the  exclusive  prop 
erty  of  men  devoted  to  the  good  of  mankind. 
3B 


TO  THE  COMTE  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 


Washington, 


I  HAVE  just  witnessed  one  of  the  most  imposing 
ceremonies  of  this  government ;  1  allude  to  the  inau 
guration  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  It 
took  place- about  noon,  on  the  4th  of  March,  when 
the  power  of  the  late  incumbent  ceased,  and  that  of 
his  successor  commenced.  It  was  simple  in  its  forms, 
but  it  may  possess  sufficient  interest  to  amuse  a  few 
leisure  minutes. 

Every  body  was  in  the  Capitol  by  the  appointed 
hour.  As  it  is  altogether  a  ceremony  of  convention 
(with  the  exception  of  the  oath  of  office)  such  persons 
were  admitted  to  be  spectators,  as  the  officers  who 
controlled  the  proceedings  chose.  But  in  a  country 
like  this,  exclusion  must  proceed  on  a  principle,  and 
on  such  a  principle,  too,  as  shall  satisfy  the  reason 
of  the  community.  In  the  first  place,  the  galleries 
of  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  were 
thrown  open  to  every  body ;  a  measure  that  in  itself 
served  to  commence  with  a  system  of  equality.  The 
floor  of  the  house  was  next  occupied,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  by  the  Senators  and  Representatives.  The 
foreign  ministers  and  their  suites,  the  officers  of  the 
government,  including  those  of  the  army  and  navy, 
ex-members  of  Congress,  and  citizens  of  eminence 
from  distant  States,  and  finally  strangers,  who  were 
deemed  worthy  of  attention,  composed  the  rest  of  the 
assembly. 

The  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  appeared  in 
uniforms  ;  and  as  there  were  a  great  many  handsome 
and  well-dressed  women  present  the  scene  was  sul 


MR.  MONROE  AND  MR.  ADAMS.  555 

ficiently  gay.  But  here  all  attempts  at  display  ceased. 
There  were  no  guards,  no  processions,  no  wands,  no 
robes,  nor  any  of  the  usual  accompaniments  of  an 
European  ceremony. 

At  the  proper  time,  the  President  (Mr.  Monroe) 
and  the  President  elect  (Mr.  Quincy  Adams)  entered 
the  hall,  accompanied  by  the  great  officers  of  state, 
the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  &c.  &c.  The  two 
former  took  their  seats  on  the  sofa  of  the  Speaker, 
while  the  others  occupied  chairs  that  had  been  re 
served  for  them.  After  a  short  pause,  the  chief  jus 
tice  of  the  United  States  arose,  and  ascended  to  the 
little  elevation  on  which  the  sofa  stands.  He  held 
in  his  hand  the  sacred  volume.  Mr.  Adams  then  took 
the  oath,  in  the  presence  of  the  assembly,  with  so 
lemnity  and  distinctness.  The  form  was  as  follows : 
"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect, 
and  defend,  the  constitution  of  the  United  States." 

With  this  brief  but  impressive  office,  a  change  in 
the  executive  power  of  this  vast  republic  was  effected. 
The  moment  Mr.  Adams  had  pronounced  the  words 
just  quoted,  he  was  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  great 
nation,  and  his  predecessor  retired  to  the  station  of  a 
private  citizen. 

After  a  momentary  delay,  the  new  President  com 
menced  what  is  called  his  "inaugural  address."  It 
was  long,  and  it  was  delivered  with  earnestness  and 
apparent  sincerity.  It  is  customary  to  recognise,  on 
this  occasion,  the  leading  principles  of  the  constitu 
tion,  and  for  the  new  functionary  to  make  some  man 
ifestation  of  the  particular  course  of  policy  by  which 
he  intends  to  be  governed.  Such  professions  are, 
however,  rather  general  than  minute,  and  seldom  go 
farther  than  a  confession  of  political  faith,  that  de 
pends  much  more  on  received  axioms  than  on  any 
private  opinions.  Still,  there  was  a  simplicity  in  the 


556  THE    NEW    CABINET. 

air  of  the  President,  and  in  the  forms  of  the  ceremo 
ny,  which  irresistibly  led  to  the  belief  you  were  lis 
tening  to  professions  that  were  entitled  to  more  credit 
than  those  which  similar  scenes  elsewhere  are  wont 
to  create.  When  the  address  was  ended,  the  assem 
bly  intermingled ;  and  after  the  congratulations  and 
compliments  proper  to  such  an  event,  the  multitude 
quietly  dispersed.  Immediately  after,  the  Senators 
proceeded  to  their  chamber,  where  the  oath  was  ad 
ministered  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  then  took  the  chair 
of  that  body,  in  virtue  of  his  office  of  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States.  He  made  a  short  and  pertinent 
address,  and  the  Senate  soon  after  adjourned.  During 
the  course  of  that,  or  the  succeeding  day,  Mr.  Adams 
nominated  Mr.  Clay,  the  late  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  to  fill  the  vacancy  (Secretary  of 
State)  occasioned  by  his  own  election  to  the  chair 
of  the  chief  magistrate.  Mr.  Crawford,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  also  retired ;  and  Mr.  Rush,  who 
had  recently  been  minister  in  England,  was  selected 
to  fill  the  situation.  The  place  of  Mr.  Calhoun  was 
supplied  by  a  gentleman  from  Virginia  (Mr.  Barbour.) 
With  these  changes  the  new  cabinet  was  complete, 
the  other  incumbents  retaining  office.  I  understand 
it  is  a  practice  for  every  member  of  the  cabinet  to 
tender  his  resignation  on  the  election  of  a  new  Presi 
dent,  which  gives  the  latter  an  opportunity  of  making 
such  alterations  as  he  may  deem  expedient,  in  the 
most  delicate  manner  possible.  Two  of  the  vacan 
cies,  in  the  present  instance,  were  the  results  of  pro 
motions  ;  and  it  is  understood  that  Mr.  Adams  would 
have  gladly  retained  Mr.  Crawford,  had  that  gentle 
man  been  disposed  to  serve. 

I  confess  I  have  been  struck  with  the  imposing 
simplicity  of  such  a  quiet  transfer  of  power.  The 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States  is  one  of 
great  dignity  and  high  trust,  and  its  duties  have  al 
ways  been  discharged  with  singular  moderation  and 


THE    PRESIDENT.  557 

zeal.  The  present  incumbent  is  a  prudent  and 
zealous  patriot,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  distrust  his 
intelligence  or  intentions. 

It  is  a  necessary  consequence  of  an  European  edu 
cation,  that  we  should  subject  all  things  to  the  rules 
that  are  known  to  govern  life  in  our  quarter  of  the 
world.  Under  these  impressions,  a  thousand  absurd 
and  childish  theories  have  been  urged  among  us, 
concerning  the  probable  influence  of  such  an  officer, 
as  the  one  whose  inauguration  I  have  just  described. 
It  would  teach  some  of  us  moderation,  though  it  did 
not  teach  us  wisdom,  did  we  thoroughly  understand 
the  fact,  that  it  is  quite  as  unintelligible  to  the  mass 
of  the  Americans  how  we  contrive  to  get  on  under 
our  systems,  as  it  is  to  us  how  they  manage  to  get  on 
with  theirs. 

I  have  already  endeavoured  to  convey  some  idea 
of  the  nature  of  the  private  intercourse  which  the 
President  liolds  with  his  fellow-citizens.  He  is  uni 
formly  treated  with  personal  respect,  but  never  with 
adulation.  The  tone  of  ttie  manners  of  the  country 
is  so  much  opposed  to  the  practices  of  courts,  that 
artifice  itself  requires  that  some  sacrifice  should  be 
made  to  simplicity.  Whenever  the  President  appears 
in  his  official  character,  he  is  received  with  the  quiet 
deference  that  is  due  to  his  office ;  but  whenever  he 
chooses  to  appear  as  a  private  citizen,  he  does  it 
without  exciting  more  attention  than,  is  naturally  be 
stowed  on  an  individual  who  occupies  an  elevated 
and  responsible  station.  The  late  President  (Mr. 
Monroe)  made  tours  of  observation  through  all  the 
States,  and  along  the  whole  line  of  the  national  fron 
tier.  His  journey  was  rather  of  a  public  nature,  and 
his  receptions,  in  the  towns  and  States,  wore  a  good 
deal  of  a  public  character.  The  ceremonies  through 
which  he  passed  were  a  species  of  homage  paid,  in 
remote  quarters  of  the  confederation,  to  the  unity  of 
the  nation  in  his  person,  though,  in  no  instance,  did 
3B2 


558  THE    PRESIDENT. 

they  exceed  the  compliments  of  the  governed  to  the 
man  who  filled  a  station  to  which  he  had  been  elect 
ed  by  the  public  will.  When,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  President  chooses  to  leave  the  seat  of  govern 
ment  on  his  private  affairs,  he  passes  through  the 
States  like  any  other  citizen,  though  it  is  not  pos 
sible  to  separate  the  man  entirely  from  the  consider 
ation,  or,  indeed,  from  the  actual  power  which  at 
tends  the  office.  He  journeys,  on  these  occasions, 
like  other  people,  in  the  steam-boats  and  public 
coaches ;  and  his  passages  through  the  towns  are 
distinguished  by  no  other  marks  of  attention  than  the 
visits  of  compliment  that  he,  or  any  other  man  of  emi 
nence,  would  naturally  receive. 

The  constitutional  power  of  the  President  is  not 
trifling,  though  it  is  always  rigidly  subordinate  to  the 
law.  He  is  commander-in-chief  of  the  army ;  but 
while  it  might  prove  some  palliation  to  pjead  an  ille 
gal  order  issuing  from  this  source,  as  an  excuse  for 
violating  any  law,  it  would  not  be  the  slightest  justi 
fication.  The  only  supreme  authority  in  this  repub 
lic  is  the  law :  and  the  President,  not  in  words,  but 
in  fact,  is  just  as  much  its  subject  as  the  meanest  cor 
poral  in  the  line.  Should  he  venture  to  order  a 
subaltern  to  do  an  illegal  act,  the  young  man  might 
refuse  to  obey ;  and  should  he  order  him  to  be  pun 
ished  for  his  disobedience,  there  is  an  authority  in 
the  country  that  would  quietly  take  the  supposed 
offender  out  of  his  hands.  Now  this  is  not  a  naked 
theory,  but  a  rigid  fact ;  and  the  consequence  is  just 
what  it  should  be.  Those  who  wield  the  public 
power  for  the  time  being,  take  all  possible  care  never 
to  be  legally  in  the  wrong ;  for  they  well  know,  that 
neither  influence,  nor  situation,  nor  fear,  nor  any 
other  cause,  can  save  the  offender  from  open  accusa 
tion  before  the  nation.  It  is  easy  to  say  that  such  a 
system  must  give  rise  to  insubordination  and  tumult, 
and  a  thousand  other  evils :  but  where  is  the  proof? 


THE    PRESIDENT.  559 

The  discipline  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United 
States  is  as  good  as  those  in  other  services,  though 
submission  to  arbitrary  power  is  far  from  being  as 
common.  All  the  authority  is  here,  though  it  is  not 
in  the  same  hands  as  elsewhere. 

I  have  mentioned  this  fact  to  show  you,  that  while 
there  exists  here  the  right  to  command  for  all  legal 
purposes,  there  exists  no  authority  to  intimidate 
inferiors  into  a  dangerous  submission.  These  people 
are  born  and  educated  in  a  state  of  society,  which 
inculcates  deep  and  settled  respect  for  the  laws, 
without  any  respect  for  individuals.  The  President 
of  the  United  States  is  commander-in-chief,  it  is  true; 
but  he  could  have  no  security  for  obedience  beyond 
the  point  where  his  views  should  become  doubtful. 

The  risk  is  too  certain,  and  the  success  too  remote 
and  doubtful,  to  leave  any  temptation  before  the 
President  to  abuse  his  power.  Four  years  is  not  time 
enough  to  mature  a  plan  that  would  be  dangerous 
to  liberty,  especially  as  the  agency  of  a  majority 
of  those  who  would  be  the  losers  by  the  change, 
must  be  employed  to  insure  success.  I  do  not  believe 
you  are  silly  enough  to  think  that  ten  millions  of 
people,  who  are  excessively  impatient  of  any  of  the 
forms  of  despotism,  are  likely  to  be  subdued  by  a 
four-years'5  monarch,  though  he  should  happen  to  be 
another  Napoleon ;  more  especially  when  he  can 
neither  obtain,  feed,  clothe,  arm,  nor  pay  his  troops, 
without  begging  money  annually  of  those  whom  he 
would  fain  crush.  If  there  shall  ever  be  any  great 
alteration  in  the  principles  of  this  government,  rely 
on  it,  it  will  proceed  directly  from  a  conviction,  in 
the  mass  of  the  people  themselves,  that  such  a  change 
is  necessary  to  their  happiness. 

Though  the  patronage  of  the  President  is  great,  it 
is  subject  to  all  the  division  of  political  support.  In 
most  cases,  he  is  glad  to  get  rid  of  the  responsibility 
of  appointments,  since  they  oftener  endanger,  than 


560  THE    PRESIDENT. 

aid  his  popularity.  He  serves,  therefore,  rather  as  a 
check  on  vicious  recommendations,  than  as  an  active 
source  of  emoluments  and  honour.  On  all  high  and 
dignified  appointments,  he  of  course  exercises  a  direct 
influence,  because  he  is  supposed  to  know  their  dutie? 
familiarly,  and  he  ought  to  know  the  qualifications  of 
those  he  wishes  to  discharge  them.  But  should  he 
he  disposed  to  go  wrong,  the  Senate  would  not  ratify 
his  nominations,  and  then  his  power  is  just  nothing, 
Let  us  suppose  a  desire  of  usurpation. 

An  unprincipled  individual  finds  himself  in  the 
chair  of  the  presidency.  He  wishes  to  become  a 
king.  He  has  but  two  ways  of  effecting  this  object  ^ 
force  or  persuasion..  If  he  has  art  enough  to  effect 
the  latter,  he  is  just  as  likely  to  succeed  here  as  the 
King  of  England,  for  instance,  would  be  likely  to  be 
come  absolute  by  the  same  means.  If  he  be  a  man 
of  common  discretion,,  he  will  know  that  he  must 
make  a  party,  or  his  force  will  amount  to  just  nothing 
at  all.  We  will  suppose  hire*  to  have  blinded  the 
nation  as  to  his  real  character,  and  views,  and  to  have 
selected  and  secured  his  agents ;  two  pretty  difficult 
tasks,  in  the  first  place,  you  must  allow.  He  has  then 
got  to  place  these  agents  in  offices  of  trust,  or  they 
are  no  better  than  other  men.  In  order  to  do  this* 
he  must  deceive,  or  corrupt,  the  Senate.  But  even 
this  difficult  task  must  be  done  in  two  years,  since 
one-third  of  that  body  go  out  of  office  every  other 
year.  Well,  he  has  bribed  a  majority  of  the  Senate, 
and  he  gets  his  tools  into,  power.  He  then  goes  to 
work  with  the  lower  house,  and  soon  brings  two  hun 
dred  men,  who  have  been  accustomed  all  their  lives 
to  look  on  him  as  an  equal,  to  become  his  dependants. 
The  two  houses  then  give  him  an  army,  and  vote 
money  freely,  in  order  to  bribe  that  army;  for  it  is  out 
of  the  question  to  think  that  men  who  have  been 
nursed  in  liberty,  will  serve  despotism  for  nothing. 
Now,  we  have  hkn,  in  the  short  space  of  two  years. 


THE    PRESIDENT.  561 

in  possession  of  the  two  houses,  of  the  treasury,  and 
provided  with  an  army.  It  is  high  time  he  should 
make  a  bold  demonstration,  or  a  new  Congress  will 
require  new  bribes.  He  takes  the  field  with  a  hun 
dred  thousand  men,  and  finds  himself  opposed  to  a 
million  and  a  half  of  citizens  unaccustomed  to  be 
controlled  illegally,  and  who  are  bent  on  resistance. 
The  odds  are  a  little  against  him,  you  will  allow, 
even  supposing  all  the  traitors  he  has  gained  to  con 
tinue  honest  men,  because  they  are  in  his  service.  I 
will  leave  him  to  fight  this  second  battle  of  Armaged 
don,  under  the  auspices  of  those  wise  heads,  who 
think  they  see  signs  in  the  clouds,  and  portents  in  the 
air. 

The  legislative  authority  of  the  President  is  en 
tirely  negative.  In  this  respect,  he  possesses  much 
power  to  do  good,  and  none  to  do  evil.  His  signature 
is  necessary  to  make  a  law,  perhaps;  •  but,  if  two- 
thirds  of  both  houses  vote  in  its  favour,  he  dare  not 
withhold  it.  He  has,  therefore,  rather  more  of  a 
voice  than  any  one,  or  any  twenty  members,  without, 
in  truth,  forming  a  separate  estate.  As  he  acts  under 
a  higher  responsibility,  and  it  is  supposed,  with  a 
greater  familiarity  with  the  interests  and  policy  of  the 
country,  than  the  ordinary  legislator,  his  influence 
should  be  greater  without  putting  it  in  his  power  to 
defeat  the  intentions  of  Congress.  It  is  easy  to  sup 
pose  cases  in  which  the  President  can  do  much  good. 
We  will  take  one  that  is  the  most  obvious.  The  con 
federation  is  nearly  equally  divided  into  slave-owning, 
and  what  are  called  free  States.  These  happen  to  be, 
just  now,  eleven  of  the  former,  and  thirteen  of  the 
latter.  In  a  few  years  more,  the  numbers  will  prob 
ably  stand  thirteen  to  fourteen.  Now  each  of  these 
States  has  two  votes  in  the  Senate,  without  whose 
concurrence  no  law  can  be  enacted.  The  superiority 
of  the  representation  of  the  free  States,  in  the  popular 
branch,  can  effect  nothing  on  any  question  that  may 


562  THE    PRESIDENT. 

be  supposed  to  touch  the  delicate  interests  of  slavery, 
without  obtaining  the  acquiescence  of  the  Senate,  It 
is  not  easy  to  imagine  a  case  when,  at  least,  two  of 
the  northern  Senators  would  not  be  inclined  to  mod 
erate  views,  should  a  contest  arise  that  seriously  in 
volved  any  of  the  more  important  interests  of  the 
Union,  and  which  was  likely  to  divide  men  into  sec 
tional  parties.  But  should  parties  in  Congress  ever 
proceed  so  far  as  to  produce,  by  a  trifling  majority, 
(it  could  not  be  a  large  one  without  materially  uniting 
northern  to  southern  men,  or  vice  versa,)  a  law  that 
should  threaten  serious  danger  to  the  harmony  of  the 
confederation,  the  President  has  power  to  send  it 
back,  and  to  demand  that  a  question  of  this  magnitude 
should  receive  the  assent  of  a  number,  that  must,  of  ne 
cessity,  include  a  concesssion  on  one  side  or  the  other; 
and  concession,  as  you  well  know,  is  a  great  step  to 
wards  harmony.  It  is  just  as  likely  that  the  President, 
in  the  first  place,  should  be  a  southern  man,  as  a 
northern  man ;  and  then  he  is  expected  to  be,  and, 
in  point  of  fact,  is,  commonly,  above  all  the  ordinary 
excitements  of  legislative  contests.  The  nation  which, 
rarely,  I  may  say,  never,  enters  very  blindly  into  the 
party  heat  which  affects  all  legislative  bodies,  would 
expect  moderation  in  the  President,  and  would  sup 
port  him  in  it.  That  such  a  case  has  not  arisen, 
proves  nothing  but  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  even  a 
legislative  majority  on  irritating  and  alarming  ques 
tions  ;  for  it  is  certain  that  in  one  instance,  at  least, 
such  a  question  has  been  agitated.  I  mean  the  law 
for  the  admission  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  (with  the 
privilege  of  holding  slaves.)  Had  Congress  passed 
that  law,  and  had  the  President  good  reason  to  think 
that  it  would  seriously  endanger  the  harmony  of  the 
confederation,  he  must  have  been  an  impotent  man 
indeed,  not  to  have  insisted  that  it  should  receive 
the  support  of  an  unequivocal  majority.  I  do  not  be 
lieve  that  a  refusal  to  admit  Missouri  to  the  Union, 


THE  PRESIDENT.  563 

(with  the  privilege  of  holding  slaves,)  would  have 
produced  any  other  immediate  result  than  applica 
tions  to  Congress  to  change  their  resolution;  and  time 
would  therefore  be  given  for  the  executive,  (as  well 
as  the  nation,)  to  estimate  and  weigh  the  consequen 
ces,  even  in  the  event  of  indecision  on  the  part  of 
the  President;  and  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive 
a  case,  in  which  executive  influence,  and  evident 
danger  to  the  confederation  united,  could  not  produce 
a  change  of  two  votes,  especially  as  the  constant 
changes  in  the  members  themselves,  admit  of  such 
an  interference  without  involving  personal  vacillation. 

This  is  one  among  a  hundred  similar  familiar 
means,  by  which  any  great  danger  that  is  likely  to 
arrive  to  this  confederation,  may,  and  would  be 
avoided. 

The  President  also  possesses  the  power  of  refer 
ring  a  question  to  Congress,  in  order  to  demaad  a 
majority  of  two-thirds  on  any  question  of  general 
policy.  That  public  opinion  will  prevent  the  abuse 
of  this  power,  through  vexatious  interferences  writL 
legislation,  is  known  by  experience,  since  it  is  dim* 
cult  to  conceive  a  case,  unless  of  extraordinary  mag 
nitude,  in  which  an  officer  so  directly  amenable  t<. 
and  dependent  on  public  opinion,  not  only  for  hit 
authority,  but  for  his  comfort,  would  dare  to  offend, 
The  long  neglect  of  the  prerogative  in  England,  is 
sufficient  evidence  of  what  public  opinion  can  do  in 
a  case  like  this.  But  the  neglect  of  the  prerogative 
in  England  does  not  infer  a  necessary  neglect  of  the 
salutary  power  of  the  President,  since  there  is  no 
jealousy  of  the  exercise  of  the  latter,  the  person  who 
holds  it  being  so  shortly  to  be  brought  back  into  the 
bosom  of  the  nation  as  a  private  citizen.  In  short, 
this  is  a  power  only  to  be  resorted  to  in  cases  in 
which  the  moderate  and  the  wiser  majority  of  tne 
whole  people  would  be  of  one  mind ;  and  it  is  one 


5G4  THE  PRESIDENT. 

that  it  might  then  be  more  injurious'  to  neglect  thara 
to  use. 

Thfi  President  commissions  all  the  officers  of  the 
general  government,  except  thoser  who,  by  law,  re* 
ceive  their  appointments  from  other  functionaries* 
The  judges  of 'the  United  States*  courts  hold  their 
offices  during  good  behaviour,*  With  these  excep 
tions,  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States'  govern 
ment  can  be  removed  by  the  President.  There  are 
a  great  many  officers  of  this  governm'ent  whose  com 
missions  are  given  but  for  four  years ;  and  though 
they  are  commonly  recommissionedt  it  is  in  the 
power  of  the  President  to  pass  them  by  if  he  should 
please.  You  remember,,  of  course,  that  in  all  cases 
which  Congress  has  not  named r  by  a  law  that  can  at 
any  time  be  repealed,  the  assent  of  the  Senate  is 
necessary  to  an  appointment. 

In  the  army  and  navy,,  a  regular  system  of  promo^ 
tion  has  been  necessarily  adopted  ^  and  as  the  Senate, 
without  a  good  reason,  would  n©t  confirm  any  irreg 
ular  nomination,  preferment,  in  those  two  branches 
of  the  public  service,  is  always  in  due  course,  except 
in  cases  where  character  is  implicated.  So  admirable 
is  the  practice  of  checks  and  balances  throughout  all 
the  departments  of  this  government,  and  so  powerful 
and  certain  is  the  agency  of  public  opinion,,  that  no> 
political  management,  except  in  cases  that,  by  com 
mon  consent,  are  thought  to  come  fairly  within  the 
scope  of  political  manoeuvringsr  caii  easily  be  exer 
cised.  The  most  commendable  impartiality  is  ob 
served  in  those  appointments,,  which,  in  their  nature. 


*  The  judges  of  the  State  courts  hold  their  offices  by  different 
tenures.  Some  are  during  good  behaviour ;  others  can  be  re* 
moved  by  the  governors  on  a  presentation  by  two-thirds  of  the 
two  legislative  bodies  (which  is, perhaps,  the  wisest  provision  of 
all;)  others  serve  until  sixty  years  of  age,  as  hi  New-York; 
and  some  until  seventy,  as  in  Connecticut.  All  are,  of  course* 
liable  to  impeachment. 


THE  PRESIDENT.  565 

should  be  kept  superior  to  party  influence.  The 
President  cannot  advance  his  son  a  step  in  either  of 
the  two  services  named,  unless  the  Senate  consents ; 
and  the  Senate  would  not  consent,  unless  the  young 
man  had  clearly  done  something  to  merit  the  reward. 

A  case  occurred  a  few  years  since,  which  goes  to 
prove  the  truth  of  what  I  tell  you.  A  meritorious 
lieutenant  of  the  navy,  who  was  entirely  destitute  of 
the  influence  of  connexions,  came  under  the  displea 
sure  of  some  of  the  powers  about  the  department 
under  which  he  served.  His  name  was  omitted  in 
the  nominations  to  the  Senate,  and  juniors  were  pro 
moted  over  his  head.  Unprotected,  and  supported 
only  by  the  truth,  this  gentleman  went  to  Washington, 
and  laid  his  case  before  the  Senators.  He  convinced 
them  that  justice  had  not  been  done  him ;  and  the 
executive,  in  order  to  get  other  nominations  confirm 
ed,  was  obliged  not  only  to  promote  this  gentleman, 
but  to  give  him  a  commission  that  restored  the  rank 
he  had  lost.  Here  was  a  clear  case  of  justice,  in 
opposition  to  influence ;  for  if  the  officer  had  been 
guilty  of  any  offence,  he  was  subject  to  a  code  of 
laws  that,  Heaven  knows,  is  severe  enough.  If  any 
man  believes  that  such  a  system  destroys  discipline, 
let  him  go  on  board  an  American  man-of-war,  and 
examine  for  himself.  In  my  opinion,  it  has  a  contrary 
effect,  by  placing  inferiors  less  in  the  power  of  their 
immediate  superiors,  and  by  consequently  rendering 
both  parties  equally  watchful. 

In  relation  to  the  more  ordinary  civil  appoint 
ments,  the  executive  of  the  United  States  adopts  a 
sufficiently  discreet  and  useful  course.  The  situa 
tions  are,  in  general,  well  filled,  and  such  a  thing  as  a 
sinecure  does  not  exist  in  the  whole  government. 
The  President  is,  in  fact,  so  far  removed  from  the 
familiar  and  personal  interests^  of  society,  that  it  is 
not  difficult  for  him,  even  in  a  country  as  democratic 
as  this,  to  preserve  a  dignified  moderation.  One 
3C 


506  THE  PRESIDENT. 

hears  a  great  deal  said,  in  the  United  States,  of  man 
agement  and  intrigue  ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  remem 
ber,  that  intrigue  here,  even  when  successful,  does 
no  more  than  a  downright  dogged  power  does  else 
where  :  and  then  it  is  always  necessary  to  recollect, 
that  the  Americans,  in  complaining,  compare  them 
selves  with  the  abstract  right,  and  not  with  other 
people.  Should  one-tenth  part  of  the  executive 
abuses  exist  here  that  exist  elsewhere,  the  world 
would  ring  with  clamour. 

You  may  form  some  idea  of  the  truth  of  this  opin 
ion,  by  an  anecdote  1  shall  mention.  A  New-York 
merchant  gravely  assured  me,  that  his  countrymen 
were  in  a  bad  way ;  that  corruption  had  made  great 
strides  among  them  ;  and  that  he  saw  the  downfall  of 
the  nation  in  its  advances.  I  begged  he  would  men 
tion  a  fact.  Leading  me  into  a  corner,  he  solemnly 
assured  me,  in  a  half  whisper,  that  he  knew,  of  his 
own  observation,  that  one  of  the  clerks  of  the  cus 
tom-house  of  that  city  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  fees 
that  the  law  did  not  sanction.  You  may  depend  on 
it,  Jules,  I  gave  him  a  sharp  look,  to  see  that  the  fel 
low  had  no  double  meaning ;  and  then,  convinced  of 
his  sincerity,  I  thought  it  no  more  than  humane  to 
offer  the  consolation  of  assuring  him  that  these  things 
sometimes  happened  elsewhere.  Now,  is  all  this 
owing  to  simplicity,  and  a  new  state  of  society?  It 
is  a  pity,  then,  it  does  not  exist  all  over  this  continent. 
The  President  possesses  the  right  to  fill  all  vacancies 
that  occur,  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  com 
missions  that  shall  be  valid  until  the  termination  of 
the  next  session,  unless  full  appointments  shall  be 
sooner  made.  This  power  is  in  no  danger  of  abuse, 
since  the  President  himself  can  be  removed  with 
nearly  the  same  ease  as  any  other  incumbent. 

The  authority  of  the  President  over  the  army  and 
navy,  though  that  of  a  general  or  an  admiral,  as  well 
as  of  a  civil  magistrate,  is  always  exercised  by  deputy. 


THE  PRESIDENT.  567 

The  Secretaries  of  the  two  departments  are  his  or 
gans,  and  they  sign  the  orders  with  their  own  names. 
Washington  took  the  field,  as  President,  to  suppress 
the  Pennsylvania  insurrection ;  and,  to  his  everlast 
ing  honour  be  it  said,  he  effected  his  object  without 
shedding  one  drop  of  human  blood. 

The  President  has  a  full,  unequivocal  power  to 
pardon  all  criminals,  except  in  cases  of  impeach 
ment.  It  has  been  said  (by  Blackstone  and  Montes 
quieu)  that  this  power  is  incompatible  with  the  na 
ture  of  a  democratic  government.  I  know  no  better 
answer  to  an  argument  than  a  fact,  and  the  fact  un 
deniably  is,  that  the  most  democratic  communities 
of  the  world  exercise  it  with  perfect  safety.  The 
mistake  of  these  two  writers  only  shows  how  very  easy 
it  is  for  the  most  acute  minds  to  get  so  enveloped  in 
prejudice,  as  in  some  measure  to  impair  the  faculties. 
The  essence  of  the  difference  between  a  democracy 
and  a  despotism  is  not  so  much  in  the  amount  of 
the  power  wielded,  as  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
created.* 

I  believe  I  have  now  given  you  a  hurried  outline 
of  the  authority  and  office  of  the  President  of  the 

*  It  is  surprising  what  vague  and  obstinate  notions  of  govern 
ment  people  acquire  by  habit.  In  America,  the  writer  was 
several  times  asked  how  it  was  possible  that  one  man  could 
control  the  interests  of  a  whole  community;  and  in  Europe, 
he  has  often  been  pressed  to  say  whether  there  is  any  authority 
in  the  United  States  to  repress  the  most  common  evils.  If 
these  worthy  thinkers  on  civil  polity  would  take  the  trouble  to 
tax  their  intellects  a  little,  they  would  see  that  necessity  is  a 
judicious  legislator,  and  that  no  country  can  exist  long,  with 
out  such  a  state  of  things  as  shall  render  society  reasonable, 
quiet,  and  secure.  The  great  point  of  difference  is  in  the  forms 
by  which  its  objects  are  effected.  There  is  no  doubt  that  one 
people  can  do  things  that  would  be  fatal  to  the  order  of  another 
(for  a  time  at  least)  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  they  who  can 
get  all  that  government  aims  at,  in  the  cheapest  and  simplest 
manner,  are  the  best  off.  The  great  desideratum  is,  to  a'dd  se 
curity  to  freedom  of  personal  efforts ;  and  this  is  a  point  that 
varies  in  different  situations  of  the  world,  just  as  much  as  intel  • 
lect  and  intelligence  themselves  vary- 


568  THE  PRESIDENT. 

United  States.  He  possesses  a  reasonable  portion 
of  power,  but  its  exercise  is  balanced  by  a  number 
of  constitutional  checks,  and,  what  is  not  less  avail 
able  in  the  present  state  of  the  world,  by  the  watch 
fulness  and  force  of  public  opinion.  Society  must 
materially  recede-  before  this  high  functionary  can 
easily  abuse  his  trust ;  and  when  that  happens,  the 
Americans,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  world, 
must  be  content  to  return  to  the  political  condition 
from  which  all  our  ancestors  emerged.  It  is  impor 
tant,  also,  to  remember  that  the  character,  qualifica 
tions,  and  usefulness  of  a  President,  are  pretty  gene 
rally  sifted  to  the  bottom,  before  the  individual 
reaches  the  station  at  all. 


TO  THE  ABBATE  GIROMACHI, 


Washington, 

You  inquire  concerning  the  state  of  religion  in  the 
United  States.  I  presume  you  ask  the  question  in. 
reference  to  its  outward  and  visible  signs,  since  it  is 
not  to  be  supposed  that  a  layman,  like  myself,  is  suf 
ficiently  versed  in  its  mysteries  to  go  deeper  than 
that  which  is  apparent. 

You  know  there  is  no  establishment.  Congress  is 
prohibited  by  the  constitution  from  creating  one,  and 
most  (I  believe  all)  of  the  State  constitutions  have 
the  same  provision.  In  point  of  fact,  there  is  none 
whatever.  The  clergy,  and  all  that  pertains,  there 
fore,  to  religion,  are  supported  by  voluntary  contri 
butions,  or  by  endowments  that  have  been  made  by 
devises,  gifts,  and  other  private  means. 


RELIGIOUS  SECTS.  569 

The  first  point  to  be  considered,  is  the  number 
and  the  nature  of  the  sects.  If  the  Presbyterians 
and  Congregationalists,  between  whom  there  exist 
mere  shades  of  difference  in  discipline  and  opinion, 
shall  be  considered  as  forming  one  sect,  they  are  cer 
tainly  the  most  numerous.  It  is  computed  that  they 
posssess  near  three  thousand  congregations.  The 
Baptists  are  known  to  have  more  than  two  thousand. 
Perhaps  the  Methodists  rank  next  in  numbers.  The 
Protestant  Episcopal  church  is  greatly  on  the  in 
crease.  I  find,  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Register,  that 
it  contains  ten  bishops,  and  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
four  clergymen.*  Most  of  the  latter  are  settled,  and 
many  have  two  or  three  congregations  under  their 
charge.  There  are  a  good  many  Friends  (Quakers) 

*  It  may  be  interesting  to  those  of  a  similar  faith  in  England, 
to  understand  the  constitution  of  this  church  in  the  United 
States.  Where  there  are  Episcopalians  enough,  the  diocese 
is  confined  to  a  single  State.  But,  as  there  are  ten  bishops, 
and  twenty-four  States,  it  is  plain  that  several  of  the  States 
are  contained  in  one  diocese.  There  are,  in  point  of  fact, 
however,  eleven  dioceses,  that  of  Delaware  being  vacant.  The 
highest  spiritual  authority  known  is,  of  course,  a  bishop.  Priests 
and  deacons  being  all  the  orders  named  in  the  Bible,  are  all  the 
other  orders  known  or  used  in  America.  The  highest  authority 
is  exercised  by  the  general  convention.  The  general  conven 
tion  is  composed  of  two  bodies,  a  house  of  bishops,  and  a  house 
of  lay  delegates.  Each  diocese  has  a  convention  for  the  regu 
lation  of  its  own  affairs.  The  general  convention  consists  of 
the  bishops,  who  form  the  house  of  bishops,  and  of  laymen,  who 
are  sent  as  delegates  from  the  State  convention.  The  object 
of  this  body  is  to  promote  harmony  and  uniformity  of  doctrine 
in  the  whole  church.  The  State  conventions  contain  the  clergy 
of  the  diocese,  and  a  lay  delegation  from  each  church.  In  both 
conventions,  the  clergy  (or  bishops,  as  the  case  may  be)  and  the 
laymen  vote  separately,  a  majority  of  each  being  necessary  to 
an  ordinance.  Clergymen  are  presented  by  their  congrega 
tions,  and  bishops  are  elected  by  the  conventions  of  the  diocese, 
and  are  approved  of  by  the  house  of  bishops.  There  is  no  sala 
ry  yet  given  to  any  bishop,  though  provisions  to  a  reasonable 
amount  are  making  for  that  object.  At  present,  they  are  all 
rectors  of  churches.  The  oldest  bishop  for  the  time  being,  is 
called  the  presiding  bishop,  though  he  enjoys  no  exclusive  au 
thority.  There  have  been,  in  all,  twenty-one  bishops  of  this 
church  in  the  United  States,  and  thev  hold  their  ordination 
3  C  2 


570     USELESSNESS  OF  AN  ESTABLISHMENT. 

in  Pennsylvania,  New-Jersey,  and  New- York.  The 
two  former  States  were  originally  settled  by  religion 
ists  of  this  persuasion.  The  Roman  Catholics  are 
the  most  numerous  in  Maryland  and  Louisiana.  The 
first  was  a  Roman  Catholic  colony,  and  the  latter 
has,  as  you  know,  been  both  French  and  Spanish, 
The  Floridas  must  also  contain  some  Catholics. 
Many  of  the  Irish  who  come  to  this  country,  and 
who  are  settled  in  the  more  northern  States,  are 
also  Catholics ;  but,  including  all,  I  should  not  think 
they  rank  higher,  in  point  of  numbers,  than  the  sixth 
or  seventh  sect,  after  allowing  for  all  the  subdivisions 
among  the  Protestants  themselves.  There  are  some 
Lutherans  and  Moravians,  and  a  great  variety  of  less 
numerous  or  local  sects. 

The  most  important  point  that  is  proved  by  the 
condition  of  this  country,  is  the  fact  that  religion  can, 
and  does,  exist  as  well  without  as  with  the  aid  of 
government.  The  experiment  has  been  tried  here, 
for  two  centuries,  and  it  is  completely  successful.  So 
far  from  competition  (if  1  may  use  so  irreverent  a 
term  on  so  grave  a  subject)  weakening,  it  increases 
its  influence,  by  keeping  zeal  alive.  While  the  Epis 
copalian  clergyman  sees  the  Presbyterian  priest  exist 
ing  in  his  neighbourhood,  and  enjoying  all  the  advan 
tages  that  he  himself  enjoys,  he  is  clearly  obliged  to 
do  one  of  two  things  ;  either  to  abandon  the  race,  or 
to  contend  with  watchfulness  and  care.  Now,  this 
is  exactly  what  is  done  here.  The  clergy  are  as 
chary  as  women  of  their  characters,  for  they  are  cer 
tain  of  being  proved,  not  by  tests  of  their  own  estab 
lishing,  but  by  those  established  by  their  competitors. 

from  the  archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York,  and  from  the 
non-juring  bishops  of  the  Episcopal  church  of  Scotland,  jointly. 
The  law  recognises  these  authorities  to  a  certain  extent,  as 
it  does  the  authorities  of  all  other  churches.  The  Catholics 
have  their  archbishops  and  bishops,  the  Methodists  their  bishops, 
and  the  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  £c.  &c.,  their  own  particular 
forms  of  government. 


RELIGION.  571 

You  may  be  inclined  to  ask  if  such  a  rivalry  does 
not  lead  to  strife  and  ill  blood  ?  Just  the  contrary. 
Each  party  knows  that  he  is  to  gain,  or  to  lose  influ 
ence,  precisely  as  he  manifests  the  practice  of  the 
doctrines  he  teaches:  and  that,  I  apprehend,  so  far  as 
Christianity  is  concerned,  is  charity  and  forbearance. 
At  all  events,  with  now  and  then  an  insulated  and 
rare  exception,  great  apparent  good-will  and  cor 
diality  exist  among  the  clergy  of  the  different  sects; 
and,  I  fancy,  it  is  precisely  for  the  reason  that  there 
is  nothing  to  be  gained,  and  a  good  deal  to  be  lost, 
by  a  different  line  of  conduct.  This  is  considering 
the  question  solely  on  its  temporal  side,  but  you 
know  I  commenced  with  professing  ignorance  of  the 
spiritualities. 

Freedom  of  thought  on  matters  of  religion,  is  so 
completely  a  consequence  of  intellectual  advance 
ment,  that  it  is  impossible  to  prevent  men  who  think 
much  from  doing  one  of  two  things ;  they  either 
choose  their  own  course,  in  secret,  or  they  become 
indifferent  to  the  subject  altogether.  I  have  always 
been  of  opinion  that  sects  carry  their  articles  of  faith 
too  far,  since  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  get  two  intel 
lectual  men  to  view  any  long  series  of  metaphysical 
propositions  in  precisely  the  same  light ;  and  it  would 
be  better  to  leave  them  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
consciences,  and  to  the  lights  of  their  own  intelli 
gence  in  lesser  matters,  after  they  are  once  fairly  of 
a  mind  on  the  more  material  truths  of  their  creed. 
This  desirable  object  is  obtained  in  the  United  States, 
to  a  certain  degree,  though  not  entirely,  by  allowing 
every  man  to  choose  his  church,  without  attracting 
comment  or  censure.  Charity  is  a  consequence  of 
such  a  state  of  things,  at  least  that  charity  which 
manifests  itself  outwardly.  The  true  object  of  reli 
gion  is,  to  teach  men  the  path  to  heaven,  and  that  is 
an  affair  more  affecting  the  individual  than  any  body 
else.  The  moment  society  ceases  to  take  the  abso- 


572  ESTABLISHMENTS. 

lute  direction  of  the  matter  into  its  own  hands,  indi 
viduals  interest  themselves  rather  than  lose  the  object- 
and,  unless  they  do  interest  themselves,  under  any 
system,  I  believe  we  are  taught  to  think  that  estab 
lishments  will  do  them  no  great  good. 

Still  society  has  a  worldly  interest  in  the  existence 
of  religion — granted.  But  if  it  can  obtain  its  object 
without  an  establishment,  of  what  use  is  the  latter  ? 
It  is  true,  one  does  not  see  as  many  churches  in  a 
given  number  of  square  miles  in  America,  as  in  a 
given  number  of  square  miles  in  France  or  England: 
nor  are  there  as  many  people  to  use  them.  In  order 
to  institute  a  fair  comparison,  all  things  must  be  con 
sidered.  In  the  first  place,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
Americans  have  more  places  of  worship  than  twelve 
millions  of  people  in  any  other  country  of  the  globe; 
and  if  the  peculiar  condition  of  the  new  States  be 
considered,  I  believe  they  have,  in  point  of  moral 
truth,  twice  as  many.  I  am  quite  willing  to  admit 
that  the  cheapness  of  construction,  the  freedom  of 
opinion,  and  necessity  itself,  may  all  contribute  to  pro 
duce  such  a  result,  but  I  cannot  see  how  this  negative 
proof  is  to  demonstrate  that  religion  suffers  from  the 
xvant  of  an  establishment.  Let  us  examine  the  pro 
gress  of  the  sects  in  a  parish. 

Ten  miles  square  of  wilderness  is  laid  out  in  a 
township.  Settlers  come  into  it  from  all  quarters,  and 
of  all  denominations.  The  State  has  reserved  a  few 
hundred  acres  of  land,  perhaps,  for  the  support  of 
religion.  The  first  thing  commonly  done,  is  to  erect 
a  shop  for  a  blacksmith,  and  there  is  generally  an  inn 
near  it,  both  being,  of  course,  established  in  some 
convenient  place.  The  school-house,  or  three  or  four 
of  them,  soon  follow,  and  then  people  begin  to  think 
of  a  church.  During  the  time  that  force  for  so  im 
portant  an  object  has  been  collecting,  itinerant  teach 
ers,  missionaries,  &c.,  sent  from  the  older  parts  of 
the  country,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  collecting  the 


RELIGION   IN  A  NEW  SETTLEMENT.  573 

people  in  the  school-houses,  barns,  or  some  other 
building,  in  order  to  keep  alive  the  remembrance  of 
holy  things.  I  think  it  may  be  taken  as  a  rule,  that 
few  settlements,  in  the  more  flourishing  parts  of  the 
country,  exist  fifteen  years  without  reaching  the 
church-building  age.  Some  do  it  much  sooner,  and 
others,  certainly,  require  more  time  to  mature  their 
efforts.  But  the  church  (the  building)  must  have 
a  faith,  as  well  as  its  builders  ?  Not  necessarily. 
Churches  are  frequently  built  and  kept  in  abeyance 
for  a  maturity  of  opinions,  though  nineteen  times  in 
twenty  the  very  disposition  to  erect  a  church  pre 
supposes  an  understanding  as  to  the  denomination  it 
is  to  serve.  In  coming  to  this  understanding,  the 
minority  are,  of  course,  obliged  to  yield,  which  is 
precisely  what  they  would  have  to  do  if  there  were 
an  establishment.  But  an  establishment  would  keep 
men  from  error.  Let  us  see  how  the  truth  lies  on 
this  point.  How  do  the  establishments  of  Scotland, 
England,  Denmark,  France,  and  Turkey,  for  instance, 
agree  ?  It  is  quite  plain,  I  think,  that  establishments 
have  nothing  to  do  with  truth  ;  and  is  it  not  equally 
plain,  by  the  example  of  this  country,  that  they  are 
not  necessary  to  the  existence  of  religion  ?  But 
America  was  settled  by  religionists,  and  the  spirit 
they  infused  in  the  country  is  not  yet  extinct !  Ad 
mitted.  Is  there  any  more  likelihood,  had  the  an 
cestors  of  the  Americans  been  Atheists,  that  the 
present  generation  would  create  an  establishment, 
than  that  it  would  receive  religion  in  sects  ?  Did  the 
apostles  come  into  favour  under  an  establishment  ?  Or 
would  not  a  country  be  more  likely  to  receive  reli 
gion  in  forms  to  suit  tastes  and  opinions,  than  in  any 
one  form  that  could  not  suit  all  faculties,  or  appease 
all  judgments  ?  Here  then,  I  think,  we  have  some 
reason  to  believe  that  establishments  neither  intro 
duce  nor  keep  religion  in  a  country.  But  let  us  go 
back  to  our  settlement. 


574  ESTABLISHMENTS,    ETC. 

The  church  is  built,  and  as  the  Presbyterians  have 
given  the  most  money,  and  are  far  the  most  numerous, 
the  priest  who  is  called  is  of  their  persuasion.  Those 
who  are  firm  in  their  own  particular  faith,  cherish  it 
in  secret ;  and  when  the  proper  time  comes,  they 
join  a  congregation  of  their  own  people.  They  could 
do  no  more,  if  the  church  was  built  under  an  estab 
lishment.  Those  who  are  not  very  rigid  in  their  faith, 
most  probably  drop  quietly  into  the  communion  of 
the  church  they  find  so  convenient.  An  establish 
ment  would  compel  them  to  do  precisely  the  same 
thing.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  more,  however, 
the  people  begin  to  separate,  or  rather  to  follow  their 
own  opinions  ;  and  then  every  thing  settles  down  as 
quietly  as  men  choose  their  wives,  or  make  any  other 
important  selection  that  they  have  reason  to  think  is 
particularly  interesting  to  their  individual  happiness. 
But  does  not  all  this  intermingling  and  indistinctness 
produce  disorder  and  confusion  ?  Just  the  contrary. 
While  society  is  in  its  infancy  it  produces  harmony, 
by  inducing  mutual  support;  and  it  weakens  preju 
dice,  and  is  fatal  to  superstition,  by  bringing  the  for 
mer  in  subjection  to  all  it  wants  to  destroy  it — fa 
miliarity  :  and  by  rendering  the  other  obnoxious  to 
the  ridicule  and  exposed  to  the  reason  of  competi 
tors.  It  is  a  known  fact,  that  a  century  ago,  the 
American  religionists  were  among  the  most  bigoted 
of  their  respective  sects ;  and  it  is  just  as  true  now, 
that  they  have  immensely  improved,  and  that  they 
are  daily  growing  still  more  reasonable,  as  familiarity 
with  each  other  teaches  them  how  very  little  better 
any  one  man  is  than  the  rest  of  his  fellow-creatures. 

But  it  will  become  necessary,  in  time,  to  make 
some  use  of  the  land  which  has  been  reserved  for 
the  support  of  the  gospel.  How  is  this  to  be  done 
in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  give  offence  to  the  mi 
nority  ?  You  will  recollect  that  this  fund  has  been 
created  in  the  most  insensible  manner,  and  not  by  the 


RELIGION    IN    A    NEW    SETTLEMENT.  575 

aid  of  any  imposition  that  is  felt  by  the  citizen.  It  is 
not  so  much  a  measure  of  general  policy,  as  one  that 
is  intended  to  aid,  to  a  reasonable  extent,  the  wishes 
of  the  majority.  Were  there  Jews  or  Mahomed- 
ans  enough  in  the  land,  to  make  such  a  measure 
necessary,  I  take  it  for  granted,  they  would  get  their 
share.  It  is  the  great  merit  of  this  government,  that 
it  does  not  aim  so  much  to  satisfy  theories  as  to  pro 
duce  wholesome  practical  results.  It  is  the  great 
fault  of  its  enemies,  that  instead  of  looking  at  it  as  a 
government  should  be  viewed,  in  its  worldly  and 
positive  aspects,  they  are  for  ever  endeavouring  to 
find  some  inconsistency  in  theory  which  shall  appease 
a  sense  of  secret  uneasiness,  that  is  beginning  to  get 
a  little  too  prevalent  for  their  complacency,  that  it 
is  a  more  enviable  state  of  society  than  they  wish  to 
believe. 

As  respects  the  matter  in  question,  the  people  of 
New- York  (for  it  is  altogether  an  affair  of  the  indi 
vidual  States,)  have  seen  they  must  do  nothing,  under 
the  most  favourable  circumstances  for  doing  a  great 
deal  for  the  support  of  religion,  or  they  must  incur 
the  risk  of  invading  some  perfectly  dormant  princi 
ple  of  a  bald  theory.  They  give  land,  which  is  of 
no  value  at  the  time,  leaving  the  people  to  dispose 
of  it  when  it  does  become  of  value.  We  will  sup 
pose  this  reservation  now  to  be  worth  a  division. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  town  are  then  required  to 
make  their  election.  Every  congregation,  which  is 
in  truth  a  congregation,  gets  its  share,  and  there  the 
business  is  disposed  of.  The  infidel,  or  the  man  of 
indifference,  or  perhaps  a  solitary  Catholic,  gets  no 
thing,  it  is  true,  for  he  does  not  want  it.  You  will 
at  once  see  that  this  sort  of  provision  is  of  use  only 
to  those  who  go  through  the  hardship  of  settling  a 
town,  since  their  successors  may  have  different  re 
ligious  persuasions  ;  but  it  is  meant  for  the  encourage 
ment  and  consolation  of  those  who  do  undergo  the 


576  INDIFFERENCE    TO    SECTS. 

privations  incident  to  such  a  service.  The  best  pos 
sible  proof  of  the  wisdom  of  the  measure  is,  that  it 
does  good,  without  doing  the  least  harm  to  any  body. 
I  can  readily  understand  that  they  who  have  been 
long  accustomed  to  quarrel,  and  to  see  others  quarrel 
about  the  temporalities  of  churches,  will  find  a  thou 
sand  difficulties  in  disposing  of  such  a  grant  as  this  I 
have  named ;  but  fact  is  daily  proving  here  that  it 
can  be  done,  when  men  are  once  accustomed  to  meet 
on  such  occasions  in  a  spirit  of  amity,  without  any 
difficulty  at  all. 

I  remember  to  have  held  a  conversation  with  an 
innkeeper,  who  resided  within  a  few  yards  of  an 
edifice  that  was  then  in  the  course  of  erection  as  a 
place  of  public  worship.  I  asked  him  the  denomi 
nation  of  the  people  to  whom  it  belonged.  His  an 
swer  was,  "  The  Presbyterians."  "  And  you,  you 
are  a  Presbyterian,  no  doubt  ?"  "  No,  I  was  bap 
tized  in  the  Episcopal  church,  and  I  must  say,  I  like 
it  best  after  all."  "  Ah,  then  you  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  cost  of  building  this  house  ?"  "  I  have  paid 
my  share."  "  But  how  is  this,  you  pay  for  the  sup 
port  of  a  church  to  which  you  do  not  belong  ?"  "  I 
do  as  I  please,  and  I  please  to  help  my  neighbours, 
who  will  help  me  in  some  other  way,  if  not  in  this ; 
besides,  they  are  Christians  as  well  as  myself:  and 
I  mean  to  have  a  pew,  and  go  and  hear  their  parson 
till  I  can  hear  one  of  my  own  church."  "  But  you 
may  be  converted  ?"  "  Well,"  he  said,  smiling,  "  then 
I  shall  be  a  Presbyterian,  and  my  wife  and  myself 
will  be  of  the  same  mind  ;  we  are  not  afraid  of  look 
ing  the  truth  in  the  face  in  America,  let  it  come  out 
of  what  pulpit  it  may." 

la  fact,  the  utmost  harmony  and  good-will  prevails 
among  the  different  sects.  Controversy  is  but  little 
known,  though  I  have  been  present  at  a  dispute  of  a 
very  remarkable  character.  The  parties  were  a  Bap. 
tist  and  an  Universalist.  They  met  in  a  field  at  an. 


HABITS    OF    SECTS.  577 

appointed  hour,  and  the  ceremonial  of  the  rencontre 
was  arranged  with  as  much  precision  as  if  they  had 
met  for  a  less  pacific  interview.  They  were  to  be 
placed  so  many  feet  asunder,  in  order  that  their  voices 
should  be  audible.  They  were  to  speak  alternately, 
and  by  the  watch,  so  many  minutes  at  a  time ;  and 
each  was  to  confine  himself,  according  to  an  estab 
lished  protocol,  to  a  certain  set  of  opinions,  during 
particular  hours.  The  audience  stood  around  as 
si'ent  listeners. 

It  was  a  remarkable,  and  not  an  uninteresting  scene. 
As  you  may  suppose,  the  learning  brought  into  the 
combat  was  none  of  the  deepest,  but  the  zeal  and 
native  shrewdness  were  great,  and  the  discretion  was 
admirable.  1  left  the  mooted  point  in  as  much  doubt 
as  I  found  it,  though  a  great  deal  of  absurdity  was 
disposed  of  in  the  controversy,  in  a  rough  but  sen 
sible  manner.  This  exhibition  was,  of  course,  as 
much  of  a  novelty  to  the  people  of  the  country  as  it 
was  to  me. 

I  witnessed  other  scenes,  that  were  alike  impres 
sive  and  beautiful.  The  Methodists  have,  at  stated 
periods,  what  are  called  camp  meetings.  They  as 
semble  in  thousands  in  some  wood,  and  hold  their 
religious  festivals  in  a  manner  that  is  as  striking  by 
its  peculiar  simplicity,  as  it  is  touching  by  the  inter 
est  and  evident  enjoyment  they  experience. 

It  is  a  fashion  to  ridicule  and  condemn  these  meet 
ings,  on  the  plea  that  they  lead  to  excesses  and  en 
courage  superstition.  As  to  the  former,  the  abuse  is 
enormously  exaggerated;  though,  beyond  a  doubt, 
there  are  individuals  who  attend  them  that  would 
seek  any  other  crowd  to  shield  their  vices ;  and  as  to 
the  latter,  the  facts  show,  that  while  new  and  awak 
ened  zeal,  in  ignorant  persons,  frequently  breaks  out 
in  extravagance  and  folly,  they  pass  away  w7ith  the 
exciting  cause,  and  leave  behind  them  tender  con 
sciences  and  a  chastened  practice.  What  are  the 
3D 


578  EFFECTS    OF    LIBERALITY. 

weaknesses  of  these  men,  to  those  that  are  exhibited 
in  countries  where  faith  is  fettered  by  the  law  ?  Or, 
if  you  maintain  an  establishment,  and  let  men  follow 
their  private  opinions,  in  what  does  America  differ 
from  other  countries,  except  in  things  that  are  entirely 
dependent  on  the  peculiar  temporal  condition  of  the 
republic,  and  which  could  not  be  avoided,  if  the  cit 
izens  were  all  in  full  communion  with  the  church  of 
Rome  itself? 

It  is  a  mistake  to  believe  that  the  liberality  on  re 
ligious  subjects,  which  certainly  exists  to  so  eminent 
a  degree  in  this  country,  is  the  effect  of  there  being 
no  establishment.  On  the  contrary,  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  establishment  is  owing  to  the  liberal  insti 
tutions,  and  to  the  sentiments  of  the  people.  You 
will  remember,  that  the  same  political  right  to  create 
establishments  is  to  be  found  in  the  State  governments, 
here,  as  is  to  be  found  any  where  else.  All  power 
that  can  belong  to  governments,  and  which  has  not 
been  ceded  to  the  United  States,  is  the  property  of 
the  States  themselves,  in  their  corporate  capacities. 
It  is  true  that  most  of  them  have  decreed,  in  their 
constitutions,  that  no  religious  tests  shall  be  known ; 
but  it  is  necessary  to  remember  who  have  framed 
these  imperative  and  paramount  ordinances.  The 
powers,  too,  that  decreed  these  limitations  can  change 
them.  But  let  us  examine  into  the  actual  state  of  the 
law  on  this  interesting  subject. 

The  provision  contained  in  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States  is  altogether  prohibitory.  It  goes  to 
say,  that  the  government  of  the  confederacy  shall  pass 
no  law  to  create  a  religious  establishment,  or  to  pro 
hibit  the  free  exercise  of  religion.  It  is  contained  in 
an  amendment,  and  is  embodied  in  a  paragraph  which 
exposes  rather  a  declaration  of  the  limits  of  congres 
sional  power,  than  any  concession  of  power  itself. 
The  object  of  this  amendment  was  unquestionably  to 
afford  a  clearer  evidence  of  the  public  mind,  and  to 


THE    PURITANS.  579 

set  at  rest  for  ever  any  questions  which,  by  construc 
tions  of  any  previously-conceded  rights,  might  by 
possibility  arise  on  matters  of  such  importance.  Still 
the  declaration  that  Congress  shall  not  have  power 
to  do  this  or  that  thing,  only  leaves  the  individual 
States  more  unequivocally  in  possession  of  the  right 
to  do  it,  since  they  possess  all  the  rights  of  govern 
ment  except  those  conceded  to  the  Union. 

New-England  was  settled  by  the  Puritans.  What 
ever  might  have  been  the  other  good  qualities  of  these 
zealots,  religious  liberality  was  not  one  of  their  vir 
tues.  It  argues  a  somewhat  superficial  knowledge 
of  the  subject  to  contend  that  the  Americans  owe  all 
their  mental  advancement,  arid  freedom  from  preju 
dices,  to  the  circumstance  that  they  came  into  the 
country  as  reformers.  It  would  be  more  true  to  say, 
that  they  came  as  dissentients;  but  though  dissent 
may,  it  does  not  necessarily,  infer  liberality.  The  fact 
is,  that  no  country  ever  possessed  a  more  odious  and 
bigoted  set  of  laws,  on  the  subject  of  conscience,  than 
those  first  enacted  by  the  Puritans.  Independently 
of  the  little  favour  that  was  extended  to  witchcraft, 
it  was  made  death  for  a  Quaker  to  enter  several  of 
their  colonies  !  This  spirit,  which  they  brought  with 
them  from  England,  was  part  of  that  noble  and  much- 
vaunted  mental  gift  that  the  Americans  received  from 
the  mother  country.  Fortunately,  they  had  wisdom 
enough  left  to  establish  schools  and  colleges ;  and 
although  it  is  quite  probable  that  many  worthy  secta 
rians,  who  aided  in  this  labour,  thought  they  were 
merely  fortifying  their  exclusive  doctrines,  the  result 
has  shown  that  they  then  took  the  very  measure  that 
was  likely  to  introduce  liberality  and  promote  Chris 
tian  charity  in  their  land. 

The  Quakers  themselves,  though  less  sanguinary, 
for  they  did  not  deal  in  death  at  all,  were  not  much 
more  disposed  to  the  intercourse  than  their  eastern 
brethren.  The  Catholics  in  Maryland  enacted  the 


580  RELIGION. 

laws  that  Catholics  are  fond  of  adopting,  and,  in 
short,  genuine,  religious  liberality  was  only  to  be 
found  in  those  colonies  where  the  subject  was  thought 
to  be  of  so  little  interest  as  not  to  invite  bigotry.  Out 
of  this  state  of  things  the  present  rational,  just,  char 
itable,  novel,  and,  so  far  as  man  can  judge,  religious, 
condition  of  society,  has  grown. 

The  unavoidable  collision  of  sects  has  no  doubt 
contributed  to  the  result.  It  was  not  in  nature  to 
embitter  life  by  personal  and  useless  conflicts,  and 
collected  force  did  not  exist  in  situations  to  produce 
combined  oppositions.  The  Puritans  had  it  all  in 
their  own  way  in  New-England,  until  time  had  been 
given  for  reason  to  gather  force :  and,  in  the  other 
colonies,  adventitious  circumstances  aided  to  smother 
discussions.  Liberality  in  politics,  in  some  degree, 
drew  religious  freedom  in  its  train ;  and  when  the 
separation  from  England  occurred,  the  public  mind 
was  prepared  to  admit  of  great  equality  of  rights  in 
all  things.  Slavery,  which  was  certainly  retained, 
was  retained  much  more  from  necessity  than  from 
any  other  cause. 

Still  the  advancement  of  thought  in  America  was 
rather  gradual  than  sudden.  Many  of  the  original 
provisions  of  the  States,  on  the  subject  of  religion, 
imply  a  timid  and  undecided  policy.  In  New-Jersey 
no  Protestant  can  be  denied  any  civil  right  on  account 
of  religion.  This  is  clearly  a  defensive  enactment, 
In  Pennsylvania,  Mississippi,  and  Tennessee,  a  belief 
in  God,  and  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punish 
ments,  is  necessary  to  hold  office.  In  North  Carolina, 
no  person  who  denies  the  truth  of  the  Protestant  reh- 
%ion,  or  the  divine  authority  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  was  capable  of  holding  office.  Many  of 
these  provisions  have  been  changed,  though  some  of 
them  still  remain.  There  is  scarcely  a  year  passes,  in 
which  some  law,  that  has  been  a  dead  letter,  is  not 
repealed  in  some  one  of  the  States,  in  order  to  bring 


RELIGION.  581 

the  theory  of  the  government  more  in  unison  with 
the  practice.  I  believe  I  have  quoted,  above,  all  the 
States  in  which  any  thing  approaching  to  religious 
tests  has  existed,  within  the  last  ten  years.  Massachu 
setts  has  certainly  altered  its  constitution  since  that 
period ;  and  a  law  disfranchising  the  Jews  has  just 
been  repealed  in  the  State  of  Maryland,  which  you 
know  was  originally  a  Catholic  colony. 

In  New-Hampshire,  the  constitution  authorizes 
the  legislature  to  make  provision  for  the  support 
of  Protestant  ministers ;  and  in  Massachusetts,  the 
same  duty  is  enjoined.  The  practice  is  simply  this. 
An  assessment  is  laid  on  all  the  inhabitants  according 
to  their  estates.  It  is,  like  all  other  assessments  in  this 
country,  exceedingly  light,  as  its  amount  is  regulated 
by  the  people  themselves,  through  their  immediate 
representatives.  If  a  Baptist,  for  instance,  resides  in 
a  parish  where  there  is  no  Baptist  church,  he  is  at 
liberty  to  prove  that  he  has  paid  the  assessment  to  a 
Baptist  church  any  where  else ;  but  should  he  not  be 
disposed  to  take  this  trouble,  the  money  is  paid  to  the 
town  collector,  who  gives  it  to  the  church  nearest 
his  place  of  residence,  I  believe.  A  similar  practice 
prevailed  not  long  since  in  Connecticut ;  but,  as  I 
have  already  said,  gradual  changes  are  making,  and  it 
is  a  little  difficult  to  get  at  the  precise  conditions  of 
the  laws  of  so  many  different  communities,  that  are 
fearlessly  adapting  their  institutions  to  the  spirit  of 
the  age. 

In  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Ten 
nessee,  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  not  eligible  to  the 
State  legislatures.  In  South  Carolina,  Kentucky,  and 
Mississippi,  they  can  be  neither  governors  nor  legis 
lators.  In  Missouri,  they  can  fill  no  other  civil  office, 
but  that  of  justices  of  the  peace.  In  New- York, 
Delaware,  and  Louisiana,  they  can  hold  no  civil 
offices  at  all.  The  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  all  the  other  States,  I  believe,  are  silent  on  the 
3D2 


582        NUMBER  OF  THE  CHURCHES. 

matter ;  and,  of  course,  clergymen  can  serve  in  any 
situation  to  which  they  may  happen  to  be  called.  In 
all  cases,  I  understand,  the  construction  put  on  these 
regulations  is  applicable  only  to  men  in  the  actual  ex 
ercise  of  clerical  functions.  The  opinions  of  the  whole 
nation  are  directly  opposed  to  the  union  of  civil  and 
religious  duties  in  the  same  person. 

1  have  already  told  you,  and  I  wish  to  repeat  it,  as 
an  important  fact  that  is  always  to  be  remembered, 
that,  considering  their  scattered  condition  and  cir 
cumstances,  the  people  of  this  country  manifest  great 
zeal  and  interest  in  behalf  of  religion :  I  honestly 
think  more  than  any  other  nation  I  know,  and  I  be 
lieve  it  is  simply  because  they  are  obliged  to  depend 
solely  on  themselves  for  its  comforts  and  security. 
Perhaps  the  activity  of  the  nation  has  its  influence 
on  this  as  on  other  things.  Mind,  I  do  not  say  that  we 
see  spires  and  holy  places  as  often  here  as  in  Europe: 
if  we  did,  America  would  contain  twenty  times  as 
many  places  of  worship  as  the  largest  empire  we 
have,  being,  Russia  excepted,  twenty  times  as  large  : 
and  the  State  of  New- York  alone,  with  1,750,000 
souls,  (1828)  would  possess  two-thirds  as  many 
churches  as  England  with  her  twelve  or  fourteen 
millions  of  people- 
English  writers  have  not  been  ashamed  to  dwell  on 
the  comparative  scarcity  of  churches  in  this  country, 
compared  with  those  in  their  own,  as  if  the  circum 
stance  afforded  any  argument  of  a  want  of  religion  in 
the  people.  They  might  just  as  well  quote  the  fact 
that  there  were  not  as  many  tombstones,  to  prove 
the  same  thing ;  or  the  American  might  make  the  cir 
cumstance  that  this  country  possesses  more  trees  than 
England,  a  matter  of  moral  exultation. 

You  would  be  astonished  to  witness  the  perfect 
liberality  between  the  sects,  which  has  grown  up 
under  this  state  of  things.  In  the  first  place,  there 
is  nothing  temporal  to  quarrel  about,  and  the  clergy 


RELIGIOUS    CHARITY.  583 

are  driven  to  their  bibles  for  their  influence  and 
power.  1  have  asked  several  members  of  Congress 
how  many  Catholics  there  were  in  that  body,  and  no 
body  knew.  I  once  asked  an  individual,  in  the  in 
terior  of  New- York  (and  in  a  thriving  and  beautiful 
village,)  to  what  denomination  a  certain  person  we 
had  just  left  belonged.  "  He  is  an  Episcopalian,"  was 
the  answer.  This  was  disputed  by  a  third  person 
present  Proof  was  then  adduced  to  show  which  was 
right  All  parties  agreed  that  the  individual  in  ques 
tion  was  a  strictly  religious  man.  One  insisted  that  he 
had  seen  him  commune  the  preceding  Sunday  in  the 
Episcopal  church.  "What  of  that?"  returned  the 
other ;  "  and  I  have  seen  his  wife  commune  among 
the  Presbyterians ;  and  every  body  knows  that  she 
and  all  her  family  are  Episcopalians."  But  every 
body  did  not  know  any  such  thing,  for  the  other  dis 
putant  maintained  exactly  the  converse  of  the  propo 
sition.  An  umpire  was  chosen  in  the  street.  This 
worthy  citizen  "  really  did  not  know,  but  he  thought 
that  man  and  wife  were  very  pious  people !  Stop," 
he  continued,  as  he  was  coolly  walking  away,  "you 

are  right,  John;  Mr. is  a  Presbyterian,  for  I  paid 

him  the  pew  money  last  fall  myself;  and  he  would 
not  have  collected  for  the  Episcopalians."  But  even 
this  was  disputed,  and  so,  determined  to  settle  the 
point,  I  went  and  asked  the  individual  himself.  He 
was  a  Presbyterian.  "  But  you  sometimes  commune 
with  the  Episcopalians  ?"  "  Often. "  "  And  your  wife  ?" 
"  Is  an  Episcopalian."  "  And  your  children  ?"  "  We 
endeavour  to  make  them  Christians,  without  saying 
much  of  sects  ;  when  they  are  old  enough,  they  will 
choose  for  themselves."  "  But  which  church  do  they 
go  to  ?"  "  Sometimes  to  one,  and  sometimes  to  the 
other."  "But  they  are  baptized?"  "Certainly." 
*4And  by  which  clergyman  ?"  "By  the  Episcopalian ; 
because  my  church  does  not  deny  the  validity  of  his 
ordination,  though  my  wife's  church  disputes  a  little 


584  RELIGIOUS    CHARITY. 

the  validity  of  the  ordination  of  the  Presbyterian." 
"  And  your  wife,  what  does  she  think  about  it  her- 
-e!f?"  "I  believe  she  is  of  opinion  that  there  is  a 
g  >od  deal  more  said  about  it  than  is  necessary."  And 
there  the  matter  rested.  Now  this  may,  according  to 
>  >  ne  people's  opinion,  be  dangerous  intercourse,  but, 
i » i  the  whole,  I  am  inclined  to  think  Christianity  is 
I 'ic  gainer. 

Religion  is  kept  as  distinct  as  possible  from  the 
Suite.  It  is  known  that  Mr.  Adams,  the  President 
j  ist  elected,  is  an  Unitarian ;  a  persuasion  that  is 
repugnant  to  most  Christian  sects,  and  yet  you  see 
that  he  is  in  the  chair.  People  at  a  distance  would 
i  .fer  indifference  to  the  subject  of  religion  from  such 
an  excess  of  liberality,  but  the  fact  is,  the  most  zeal- 

0  is  religionist  in  this  country  knows  that  the  salva 
tion  of  Mr.  Adams'  soul  is  a  matter  of  more  moment 
!-.)  himself  than  to  any  body  else,  and  that  if  he  be  in 
error,  it  is  misfortune  enough,  without  condemning 
him  to  a  worldly  persecution.     Besides,  they  have 
sagacity  enough  to  know  that  there  is  no  more  infal 
lible  way  to  give  strength  to  any  party  that  cannot  be 
positively  crushed,  than  by  giving  it  importance  and 
energy  by  resistance. 

The  sheriff  of  the  city  of  New-York,  an  officer 
elected  by  the  people,  was,  a  few  years  ago,  a  Jew  ! 
Now  all  the  Jews  in  New- York  united,  would  not 
probably  make  three  hundred  voters.  Some  kind- 
hearted  people  got  up  a  society  to  convert  the  Jews 
•  here,  a  short  time  since  ;  and  a  notice  soon  appeared 

1  i   a  paper  inviting  the    Jews  to  meet  to  concert 
means  of  converting  the  Christians. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  country  is  as  much, 
or  more,  a  Protestant  and  Christian  country  than  any 
*>ther  nation  on  earth.  I  merely  state  a  simple  fact, 
on  which  you  are  at  liberty  to  reason  at  pleasure. 
The  sects  are  about  as  numerous  as  they  are  in  the 
mother  country,  and  all  that  one  hears  concerning 


SHAKING    QUAKERS.  585 

Thumpers  and  Bunkers,  and  other  enthusiasts,  is 
grossly  caricatured.  They  exist,  when  they  do  exist 
at  all,  as  insulated  and  meagre  exceptions  ;  and  it  is 
odd  enough,  that  perhaps  half  of  these  fantastical  sects 
have  been  got  up  by  emigrants  from  disciplined  Eu 
rope,  instead  of  being  the  natural  offspring  of  the  libe 
ral  institutions  of  the  country  itself.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  many  people  come  from  our  side  of  the  ocean 
with  strange  notions  of  liberty  and  equality,  and  that 
they  either  quarrel  with  the  Americans  for  not  being 
as  big  fools  as  themselves,  and  then  set  to  work,  in 
order  to  raise  up  creeds  and  political  doctrines  that 
they  fondly  hope  will  elevate  man  far  above  any 
thing  heretofore  known.  In  the  mean  time,  the  na 
tives  go  on  in  their  common  sense  and  practical  way, 
and  say  as  little  as  possible  about  liberty,  equality,  or 
bigotry,  and  contrive  to  be  the  freest  and  the  hap 
piest,  as  they  will  shortly  be,  in  my  poor  opinion,  the 
wealthiest  and  most  powerful  nation  of  the  globe,  let 
other  people  like  the  prediction  as  they  may. 

I  shall  close  this  letter  with  giving  you  an  account 
of  one  sect,  that  is  as  remarkable  for  its  faith  as  for 
its  practices.  I  mean  the  Shaking  Quakers.  1  have 
been  at  three  of  the  establishments  of  these  people, 
viz.  Hancock  (in  Massachusetts,)  and  Lebanon  and 
Niskayuna  (in  New-York.)  1  believe  there  is  still 
another  establishment,  in  one  of  the  south-western 
States.  The  whole  number  of  the  sectarians  is, 
however,  far  from  great,  nor  is  it  likely  to  increase, 
since  their  doctrine  denies  the  legitimacy  of  matri 
mony,  or  any  of  its  results.  There  may  be  a  thousand 
or  fifteen  hundred  of  them  altogether. 

The  temporalities  of  the  Shakers  are  held  in  com 
mon.  They  are  not  an  incorporated  company,  but 
confidence  is  reposed  in  certain  trustees,  who  are 
selected  as  managers  and  guardians  of  all  their  real 
estates,  goods  and  chattels.  They  are  an  orderly, 
industrious  sect,  and  models  of  decency,  cleanliness, 


586  SHAKING    QUAKERS. 

and  of  morality  too,  so  far  as  the  human  eye  can 
penetrate.  I  have  never  seen,  in  any  country,  vil 
lages  so  neat,  and  so  perfectly  beautiful,  as  to  order 
and  arrangement,  without,  however,  being  picturesque 
or  ornamented,  as  those  of  the  Shakers.  At  Hancock, 
the  gate-posts  of  the  fences  are  made  of  white  marble, 
hewn  into  shape  and  proportions.  They  are  manu 
facturers  of  various  things,  and  they  drive  a  consider 
able  trade  with  the  cities  of  New- York,  Albany,  and 
Boston.  They  are  renowned  retailers  of  garden- 
seeds,  brushes,  farming  utensils,  &c.  &c. 

Though  men  and  women,  who,  while  living  in  the 
world,  were  man  and  wife,  are  often  to  be  found  as 
members  of  these  communities,  the  sexes  live  apart 
from  each  other.  They  have  separate  dormitories, 
separate  tables,  and  even  separate  doors  by  which  to 
enter  the  temple. 

But  it  is  to  the  singular  mode  of  worship  of  these 
deluded  fanatics,  that  I  wish  to  direct  your  attention. 
You  know,  already,  that  no  small  portion  of  their 
worship  consists  in  what  they  term  the  "  labour  of 
dancing."  Their  founder  has  contrived  to  lay  his 
finger  on  one  or  two  verses  of  the  Old  Testament,  in 
which  allusion  is  made  to  the  custom  of  the  Jews  in 
dancing  before  the  ark :  and,  I  believe,  they  also 
place  particular  stress  on  the  declaration  of  Solomon, 
when  he  says,  "  there  is  a  time  for  all  things,"  among 
which,  dancing  is  enumerated.  It  is  scarcely  neces 
sary  to  say,  that  none  but  the  most  ignorant,  and, 
perhaps,  the  weakest-minded  men,  can  join  such  a 
sect  from  motives  of  .conscience.  I  saw  several  ne 
groes  among  them. 

I  went  to  attend  their  worship  at  Niskayuna.  It 
was  natural  to  suppose  that  their  dancing  was  a  sorf 
of  imitation  of  that  of  the  dervishes,  in  which  en 
thusiasm  is  the  commencement,  and  exhaustion  the 
close.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  quite  a  matter  of  grave 
preparation.  The  congregation  (the  Shakers)  entered 


SHAKING    QUAKERS.  587 

the  meeting  by  different  doors  at  the  same  time,  the 
elders  of  the  two  sexes  leading  the  advance,  and  one 
following  the  other  in  what  is  called  single  file.  The 
men  arranged  themselves  on  one  side  of  the  room, 
and  the  women  on  the  other.  Their  attire  was  rig 
idly  simple,  and  fastidiously  neat  It  was  made 
nearly  in  the  fashion  of  the  highly  respectable  sect 
of  Friends,  though  less  rich  in  material.  When  si 
lence  was  obtained,  after  the  movement  of  the  entree, 
the  whole  group,  who  were1  formed  in  regular  lines, 
commenced  singing  certain  spiritual  songs  of  their 
own  composition  (I  believe)  to  lively  tunes,  and  writh 
a  most  villanous  nasal  cadency.  These  songs  were 
accompanied  by  a  constant  swinging  of  the  bodies ; 
and,  from  this  commencement,  I  expected  the  access 
of  the  infatuated  worship  would  grow  by  a  regular 
increase  of  excitement.  On  the  contrary,  the  songs 
were  ended  tranquilly,  and  others  were  sung,  and 
always  with  tlie  same  quiet  termination.  At  length, 
one  of  the  elders  gravely  said,  "  Let  us  labour,1'  just 
as  you  hear  priests  say  from  their  desks,  "  Let  us 
pray."  The  men  then  proceeded  with  gravity  to  take 
off  their  coats,  and  to  suspend  them  from  pegs  ;  after 
which  they  arranged  themselves  in  rows  on  one  side 
of  the  room,  the  women  occupying  the  other  in  the 
same  order.  Those  who  did  not  join  the  sets,  lined 
the  walls,  and  performed  the  duties  of  musicians  with 
their  voices.  At  the  commencement  of  the  song,  the 
dancers  moved  forward,  in  a  body,  about  three  feet 
each,  turned,  shuffled,  and  kept  repeating  the  same 
evolutions  during  the  whole  time  of  this  remarkable 
service.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  any  thing 
more  ludicrous,  and  yet  more  lamentable.  I  felt  dis 
posed  to  laugh,  and  yet  I  could  scarcely  restrain  my 
tears.  I  think,  after  the  surprise  of  the  ludicrous 
had  subsided,  that  the  sight  of  so  much  miserable  in 
fatuation  left  a  deep  and  melancholy  regret  on  the 
mind. 


538  THE    SHAKERS. 

They  appear  to  have  an  idea  that  a  certain  amount 
of  this  labour  is  requisite  to  salvation,  for  I  learned 
that  many  of  the  elders  had  reached  perfection,  and 
that  they  had  long  since  ceased  to  strive  to  reach 
heaven  by  pirouetting. 

Now  the  laws  of  the  different  States  where  the 
small  fragments  of  this  sect  exist,  are  far  too  wise  and 
loo  humane  to  give  their  deluded  followers  any  trouble. 
They  are  inoffensive  and  industrious  citizens,  and, 
in  one  or  two  instances, .the  courts  have  interpret 
ed  the  laws  as  humanely  in  their  favour  as  circum- 
^tances  would  reasonably  allow.     It  is  plain  that  the 
I  rue  bond  of  their  union  is  the  effect  which  concerted 
iction  and  strict  domestic  government  produce  on 
he  comforts  of  the  grossly  ignorant ;  but  as  the  class 
if  the  very  ignorant  is  quite  limited  in  this  country, 
sad  is  daily  getting  to  be  comparatively  still  less  nu 
merous,  there  is  no  fear  that  this,  or  any  other  re 
ligious  sect  that  is  founded  altogether  on  fanaticism 
and  folly,  will  ever  arrive  to  the  smallest  importance. 


TO  THE  PROFESSOR  CHRISTIAN  JANSEN, 


Washington, 

— You  know  not  what  you  ask  I  I  have  already 
sent  you  an  imperfect  account  (I  must  confess)  of  the 
jurisprudence  of  the  United  States,  and  now  you  ask 
me  for  what  you  are  pleased  to  call  an  outline  of  its 
civil  and  criminal  law.  Do  you  know  there  are 
four-and-twenty  States,  one  district,  and  four  territories 
in  this  country,  and  that  each  of  them  has  its  own 
laws,  varying  in  some  particulars  of  form  and  of 
policy  from  those  of  all  the  rest  ?  My  answer 


PUNISHMENT    OF    CRIME.  589 

therefore,  be  very  short;  nor  should  it  be  given  at  all, 
did  I  not  know  that  various  absurdities  are  circulated 
in  Europe,  on  this  very  matter,  by  men  who  travel 
here,  and  who  rarely  possess  a  knowledge  of,  or  give 
themselves  the  trouble  to  inquire  into,  the  true  con 
dition  of  the  society,  whether  considered  in  reference 
to  its  conventional  tone,  or  to  its  positive  institutions. 

The  criminal  law  of  the  United  States  is  more 
sanguinary  than  that  of  any  particular  State.  Piracy, 
treason,  murder,  robberies  of  the  mail,  in  which  the 
life  of  the  person  in  charge  is  jeoparded,  and  a  few 
other  offences,  are  punished  with  death.  Crimes 
committed  on  the  high  seas,  in  certain  reservations, 
such  as  forts,  light-houses,  &c.,  are  also  punished  by 
the  laws  of  the  confederation.  Smaller  offences  are 
punished  by  fines,  or  imprisonment,  or  by  both.  Some 
of  the  States  inflict  death  for  a  variety  of  offences, 
especially  the  slave-holding  communities ;  others  again 
are  very  tender  of  human  life.  In  New- York,  mur 
der,  arson,  if  the  building  be  an  inhabited  dwelling, 
and  treason,  can  be  punished  with  death.  All  crimes 
that  are  exclusively  military,  are  punished  by  the 
military  code  of  the  general  government. 

The  great  fault  in  the  exercise  of  the  criminal  law, 
in  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  States  of  America,  is  a 
false  humanity.  The  people  have  heard  a  great  deal, 
and  a  great  deal  justly,  of  the  useless  severity  of  the 
laws  in  many  European  countries,  and  they  very 
naturally  turn  with  horror  from  a  system,  that  they 
are  fond  of  thinking  is  unnecessary  to  a  nation  in 
their  own  condition.  I  cannot  say  I  agree  with  them. 
As  there  is  less  temptation  to  crime  in  the  United 
States,  than  in  any  other  country,  and,  as  more  care 
is  taken  to  prevent  it  by  the  use  of  education,  and 
the  entire  absence  of  legal  monopolies,  it  is  as  un 
wise  as  it  is  unnecessary  to  reject  those  means  of  pre 
serving  the  order  of  society  which  the  experience  of 
all  ages  has  shown  to  be  salutary. 
3  E 


590  A    FALSE    HUMANITY 

The  first  and  great  duty  of  every  government  is  to 
remove,  as  far  as  possible,  all  temptations  to  crime. 
This  is  to  be  done  by  the  admission  of  equal  rights, 
and  by  as  general  a  diffusion,  as  possible,  of  moral 
influences.  But  after  these  solemn  and  imperative 
duties  are  performed,  little  can  be  said  against  a  stern 
and  wholesome  exercise  of  justice.  Punishment,  in 
order  to  be  impressive,  should  be  prompt  and  infal 
lible.  The  indiscreet  use  of  the  prerogative  of  mercy 
is  one  of  the  great  errors  of  American  criminal  policy ; 
though  it  is  said  that  necessity  often  compels  its  ex 
ercise,  as  the  public  penitentiaries  cannot  hold  the 
convicts  that  are  accumulated  by  time,  and  which 
embrace  crimes  that  elsewhere  would  sweep  the  of 
fender  from  the  earth.  I  should  think  this  argument 
must  prove  some  fault  in  the  criminal  code.  It  is 
true,  that  an  immense  proportion  of  the  convicts  are 
foreigners,  or  of  the  unfortunate  race  of  blacks  :  but 
still  it  is  necessary  to  legislate  for  things  as  they  are ; 
and  if  rogues  can  emigrate  from  Europe,  and  a  class 
of  ignorant  and  hapless  wretches  exist  in  the  State 
to  swell  the  amount  of  crime,  I  should  think  both 
policy  and  justice  require  that  a  suitable  provision 
should  be  made  to  meet  the  evil. 

I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  fact,  that  a  re 
port  of  the  superintendents  of  the  New- York  State 
Prison,  commenced  with  premises  like  this  :  "  As  the 
object  of  all  punishment  is  the  reformation  of  the 
offender ;"  now  I  take  it,  that  the  object  of  the  pun 
ishments  which  communities  inflict,  is  for  no  such 
purpose.  Society  punishes  for  its  own  protection, 
though  reformation  may,  and  when  practicable  with 
out  losing  sight  of  the  great  and  principal  cause  of 
legal  punishments,  it  should  ever  be  considered  as  a 
collateral  good,  to  be  effected  by  the  same  means. 
But  it  is  dangerous,  indeed,  to  assume  that  punish 
ment  has  no  other  motive  than  reformation.  If  this 
be  true,  why  do  we  execute  for  murder,  or  why  are 


A    FALSE    POLICY.  591 

so  many  people  taught  to  believe  that  He  who  holds 
the  destinies  of  the  universe  has  decreed  that  sinners 
shall  expiate  their  offences  in  a  lasting  condemnation  ? 
It  is  very  true,  that  as  we  can  understand  only  our 
relations  to  the  Deity,  without  comprehending  the 
relations  which  the  Deity  holds  to  us,  it  may  be  dan 
gerous,  or  even  impious,  to  pretend  to  deduce  any 
reasoning  from  the  great  laws  of  God,  which  shall 
be  strictly  applicable  to  the  obligations  which  man 
owes  to  his  fellows.  But  we  all  know  that  the  world 
does  not  graduate  punishments  of  offences  against 
society  for  the  purpose  of  amending  the  criminal, 
though  we  may  all  feel  that  an  object  so  humane 
should  not  be  neglected  when  good  opportunities  for 
effecting  it  are  afforded. 

America  is  peculiarly  placed  as  respects  crime.  It 
is  a  young,  vigorous,  abundant,  and  a  highly  commer 
cial  country,  in  which  moveable  property  abounds, 
and  in  which  it  is  remarkably  exposed  to  be  pilfered 
by  the  absence  of  a  rigid  police ;  a  sort  of  protection 
that  is  not  very  suitable  to  the  habits  and  opinions 
of  its  people.  The  great  and  increasing  intercourse 
with  an  old  nation,  in  which  crime  abounds  to  an 
extraordinary  degree,  and  the  prodigious  facilities  of 
a  communication  which  every  day  is  rendering  still 
more  easy,  tempt  rogues  from  the  mother  country  to 
shift  their  scene  of  action.  Thus,  while  the  cquntry 
has  been  acting  on  a  criminal  law  that  is  adapted, 
perhaps  well  enough,  to  the  degree  of  temptation 
which  exists  in  the  nation  itself,  its  cities  are  begin 
ning  to  swarm  with  fugitive  felons  from  England,  who, 
under  favour  of  a  common  language,  not  only  prac 
tise  all  their  artifices  with  equal  dexterity  as  at  home, 
but,  what  is  far  worse,  who  bring  corruption  into  the 
land,  and  lead  hundreds  of  youths  into  the  paths  of 
vice.  But  this  is  an  evil  that  will  correct  itself,  though 
I  think  the  good  people,  especially  of  the  large  towns, 
are  little  aware  that  their  excessive  lenity  is  not  only 


592  LAW   OF  REAL  PROPERTY. 

mistaken  on  abstract  principles,  but  that  it  is  pecu 
liarly  wrong  in  a  nation,  that,  however  it  may  go  to 
the  root  of  crime  by  diminishing  temptation  as  much 
as  possible,  must  still,  for  a  long  time,  be  exposed  to 
a  prodigious  importation  of  vice. 

The  law  of  real  property,  in  the  United  States,  is 
a  good  deal  the  same  as  that  of  England.  Entails  are, 
however,  destroyed  every  where,  and  the  doctrine 
of  descent  has,  in  many  of  the  States,  been  roughly 
handled.  In  New-York — I  quote  this  State  oftenest, 
as  the  most  populous  and  the  most  important,  though 
you  are  to  understand  that  the  laws  of  New-York  are 
strictly  applicable  only  to  itself,  while  they  are  com 
monly  founded  on  principles  that  are  general — in 
New- York,  the  father  is  the  next  heir  of  a  child  who 
leaves  no  issue.  This  is  a  wise,  a  humane,  and  a 
natural  departure  from  the  dictum  of  the  common 
law,  and  it  does  much  good  in  a  country  like  this. 
The  next  of  kin  inherit,  after  the  father,  in  equal  por 
tions,  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex.  The  widow 
is  entitled  to  one-third  of  the  personal  estate  of  the 
husband,  and  to  the  use  of  one-third  of  the  real  es 
tate  during  life.  The  husband  is  owner  of  all  the 
personals  of  the  wife,  and  he  is  the  tenant  by  the  cour 
tesy  of  her  real  estate,  according  to  the  provisions  of 
the  English  common  law.  There  is,  however,  a  good 
deal  of,  difference  in  the  rights  of  husbands  and  wives 
in  the  different  States.  In  some,  the  property  of  the 
woman  is  much  more  respected  than  in  others. 

The  party  in  possession  of  property  in  fee,  can 
devise  it,  without  restriction,  to  whom  he  pleases. 
This  is,  I  think,  a  wiser  provision  than  the  law  of 
France,  which  renders  natural  descent,  to  a  certain 
extent,  unavoidable;  but  the  law  of  France  I  take  to 
be  an  enactment  that  is  intended  to  do  away  with 
the  custom  of  entails,  which  had  gotten  such  deep 
root  in  Europe.  Rich  men,  here,  often  give  more  to 
their  sons  than  to  their  daughters;  though  it  is  very 


LAW    OF    MARRIAGE.  593 

common  for  men  of  small  fortunes  to  make  the  daugh 
ters  independent  at  the  expense  of  the  sons.  Of 
course,  any  irregularity  or  alienation  of  property 
from  the  descent  (or  ascent)  prescribed  by  the  law, 
must  be  made  by  will.* 

Marriage  is,  of  course,  altogether  a  civil  contract. 
Its  forms  are,  however,  more  or  less  artificial,  ac 
cording  to  the  policy  of  particular  States.  In  some, 
bans  are  necessary;  in  others,  evidence  that  would 
establish  any  other  contract  would  establish  that  of 
marriage.  As  a  breach  of  the  marriage  contract  is 
always  criminal,  the  law  requires,  in  cases  of  indict 
ments  for  bigamy,  rather  more  positive  testimony 
than  would  be  required  in  those  of  inheritance  and 
legitimacy.  Thus,  a  child  would  be  considered  born 
in  wedlock,  in  many  States,  under  the  reputation  of 
matrimony,  though  a  man  would  scarcely  be  punish 
ed  for  bigamy,  without  direct  evidence  of  the  two 
contracts.  The  policy  of  the  different  States,  how 
ever,  varies  so  much,  to  suit  the  particular  conditions 
of  society,  that  no  general  rule  can  be  laid  down.  In 
portions  of  the  country  recently  settled,  it  is  the  prac 
tice  to  make  the  contract  before  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
as  in  many  parts  of  New- York ;  but  then,  a  justice 
of  peace  has  no  more  power  to  celebrate  a  marriage 
than  any  other  man.  It  is  thought  that  his  testimony,  as 

*  The  writer  is  hourly  acquiring  evidence  of  the  gross  igno- 
*  ranee  concerning  the  United  States,  which  travellers  are  im 
porting  into  Europe,  where,  Heaven  knows,  enough  has  long 
existed^  He  has  lately  read  a  book,  written  by  an  English 
man,  in  a  sufficiently  amicable  spirit,  which  says  that  a  gentle 
man  of  New-York,  who  is  the  proprietor  of  a  large  estate 
(40,000  acres)  is  obliged  by  law  to  let  it  pass  to  his  nephews  and 
nieces!  It  is  possible  that, in  the  case  in  question,  a  reversionary 
interest  might  have  been  given  by  some  former  owner  in  fee,  to 
certain  nephews  and  nieces ;  but  any  owner  in  fee  (of  mature 
age)  can  devise  to  whom  he  pleases.  The  law  allows  devises 
to  go  as  far  as  all  people  actually  living,  and  to  twenty-one 
years  after,  by  fixing  age,  sex,  or  any  other  qualification  by 
which  the  party  to  inherit  can  be  accurately  distinguished. 
3  E  2 


594  THE    SOUTHERN    STATES. 

a  public  officer,  is  more  imposing  than  that  of  a  pri 
vate  individual,  and  these  people  always  attach  high 
importance  to  legal  rank.  People  of  any  condition 
are  always  (unless  in  extraordinary  exceptions)  mar 
ried  by  clergymen. 

I  can  tell  you  little  more  that  is  distinctive  in 
American  law,  without  dealing  in  exceptions  ;  since, 
though  the  governing  principles  are  always  the  same, 
the  policy  of  one  State  differs  so  much  from  that  of 
another. 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 

&c.  &c. 


New-York, 

IT  is  an  age  since  T  wrote  to  any  of  the  club.  But 
though  my  pen  has  been  necessarily  quiet,  the  inter 
vening  time  has  not  been  unemployed.  In  the  inter 
val,  I  have  run  over  an  immense  surface  in  the 
southern  and  western  States.  It  would  be  idle  to 
attempt  to  describe  all  I  have  seen,  and  there  would 
be  the  constant  danger  of  leading  you  astray  by  ex 
ceptions,  should  I  descend  into  detail.  Still,  as  there, 
is  a  great  deal  that  is  distinctive,  I  shall  endeavour 
to  convey  to  you  some  general  ideas  on  the  subject. 
The  first,  and  by  far  the  most  important  feature, 
which  distinguishes  these  States  from  their  northern 
sisters,  is  slavery.  Climate  and  productions  induce 
some  other  immaterial  differences.  The  laws,  usages, 
institutions,  and  political  opinions,  with  such  excep 
tions  as  unavoidably  grow  out  of  states  of  society 
marked  by  such  distinctions  as  the  use  or  the  absence 
of  domestic  slaves,  are  essentially  the  same. 


NUMBER  OF  THE  SLAVES,  ETC.  595 

There  is  a  broad,  upland  region,  extending  through 
the  interior  of  Virginia,  the  two  Carolinas,  and 
Georgia,  where  slaves  are  used,  more  as  they  were 
formerly  used  in  New- York  and  in  the  eastern  States. 
than  as  they  are  now  used  in  the  other  sections  of 
the  States  named.  That  is  to  say,  the  farmer  is  the 
master  of  three  or  four  Jabourefs,  and  works  in  the 
field  at  their  sides,  instead  of  being  a  planter,  who 
keeps  a  driver,  and  what  are  called  gangs.  Tennes 
see,  and  Kentucky  also,  with  some  exceptions,  em 
ploy  the  negroes  in  a  similar  manner ;  while  on  the 
Mississippi,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  along  the  coast 
of  the  Atlantic,  as  far  north  as  the  Chesapeake, 
slavery  exists  much  in  the  same  forms  as  it  is  found 
in  the  English  West  India  islands. 

The  country,  on  the  whole  coast  of  the  United 
States,  until  one  gets  far  northward  and  eastward,  is 
low  and  champaign.  It  is  healthy,  or  not,  according 
to  the  degrees  of  latitude,  and  to  local  situation. 
The  uplands  are  invariably  salubrious.  There  is  no 
region  on  earth  more  beautiful,  or  more  fertile,  than 
large  parts  of  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee. 
There  is  also  much  barren,  or  otherwise  little  valu 
able  land,  in  the  former  State,  as  there  is  in  the 
neighbouring  States  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 

South  Carolina  and  Louisiana  are  the  only  two 
States  which,  at  the  census  of  1820,  contained  more 
blacks  than  whites.  The  former  had  231,812  white 
inhabitants,  and  258,497  blacks ;  leaving  a  balance 
of  26,685  in  favour  of  the  latter.  Of  the  blacks, 
251,783  were  slaves,  being  19,971  more  slaves  than 
whites.  Louisiana  had,  at  the  same  time,  73,383 
whites,  and  79,540  blacks;  of  the  latter,  69,064 
were  slaves,  being  rather  fewer  slaves  than  whites. 
All  people  having  black  blood  are  enumerated  as 
blacks.  Georgia  is  the  next  considerable  community, 
which  has  so  large  a  proportion  of  blacks.  It  had, 
in  1820,  189,566  whites,  and  151,439  blacks.  Vir- 


596     PROPORTION  OF  BLACKS  TO  WHITES. 

ginia  had  603,008  whites,  and  462,042  blacks ;  and 
North  Carolina,  419,200  whites,  and  219,629  blacks, 
or  nearly  two  whites  to  one  black.  In  Kentucky 
there  were  434,644  whites  to  129,491  blacks;  and 
in  Tennessee,  which  is  much  disposed  to  the  habits 
of  a  free  State,  there  were  339,727  whites  to  82,826 
blacks ;  a  proportion  of  the  latter  not  greater  than 
what  formerly  existed  in  New- York  and  New-Jersey. 
Most  of  the  blacks,  in  all  these  States,  are  slaves. 

In  1790,  there  were  757,208  blacks  in  the  United 
States;  in  1800,  1,001,729;  in  1810,  1,377,810;  in 
1820,  1,764,836.  By  making  premises  of  these  facts, 
and  taking  the  past  rate  of  increase  as  a  rule  for  the 
future,  it  would  be  found  that  there  are  now  (1828) 
about  2,000,000  of  blacks  in  the  United  States.  In 
1820,  there  were  233,400/ree  blacks  in  the  United 
States.  As  the  free  blacks  do  not  increase  at  the 
same  rate  as  the  slaves,  this  number  cannot  have 
accumulated  in  a  full  proportion,  by  natural  causes. 
But  emancipation  has  been  busy  since.  New-York, 
alone,  has  liberated  more  than  10,000  slaves  since 
1820.  We  will  therefore  assume  that  natural  in 
crease  and  emancipation  have  kept  the  fiee  blacks 
up  to  the  level  of  the  increase  of  the  whole  number. 
This  would  leave  us  something  like  1 ,750,000  for  the 
whole  amount  of  slaves  in  the  country,  at  the  pres 
ent  moment  (1828.)  This  result  is  probably  not  far 
from  the  truth.  You  will  see,  however,  that  my 
premises  are  a  little  faulty,  because  the  increase  of 
blacks  between  the  years  1800  and  1810  was  a  good 
deal  greater,  in  comparison  with  whole  numbers,  than 
between  1810  and  1 820.  This  fact  is  owing  to  the  abo 
lition  of  the  slave  trade,  which  occurred  between  the 
two  censuses  of  1800  and  of  1810,  and  which  being 
known  by  a  prospective  law,  induced  extraordinary 
importations.  Thus  the  increase  between  1 800  and 
1810  was  376,581,  whereas  between  1810  and  1820 
it  was  only  387,026,  although  there  was  so  much 


VIEWS  OF  SLAVERY.  597 

larger  a  stock  to  increase  from.  Stilf,  I  think  the 
amount  of  slaves  cannot  be  much  short  of  the  num 
ber  1  have  named.  The  white  population,  in  the 
whole  country,  is  now  about  10,000,000.  Of  this 
number,  however,  at  least  6,000,000,  and  probably  a 
great  many  more,  are  in  the  free  States.  If  we  put 
the  entire  white  population  of  the  slave-holding 
States  at  3,500,000,  we  shall  probably  give  them 
quite  as  many  as  they  possess.  This  would  be  making 
two  whites  to  one  slave  in  those  States,  and  it  is 
probably  as  near  the  truth  as  one  can  get  at  this  dis 
tance  of  time  from  the  census.  But  it  has  already 
been  seen,  that  in  many  of  these  States  the  propor 
tion  of  blacks  is  much  larger  than  in  others ;  South 
Carolina  actually  possessing  more  slaves  than  whites; 
and  Tennessee  having  four  whites  to  one  black. 
There  are,  again,  districts  in  these  very  States,  in 
which  the  proportion  of  the  whites  to  the  blacks,  and 
of  the  blacks  to  the  whites,  is  even  still  greater. 

In  addition  to  these  facts,  it  may  be  well  to  state 
that  the  whole  white  population  of  the  country  is 
known  to  have  increased  faster  than  that  of  the 
coloured,  though  the  black  population  of  the  south 
ern,  or  slave-holding  States,  is  thought  to  have  in 
creased  a  little  faster  than  that  of  the  whites. 

In  considering  the  question  of  slavery,  as  now 
existing  in  the  United  States,  the  subject  naturally 
divides  itself  into  the  past,  the  present,  and  the 
future.  It  has  been  often  said,  that  a  people,  claim 
ing  to  be  the  freest  of  the  earth,  ought  to  have 
brought  their  practice  more  in  conformity  with  their 
professions,  and  to  have  abolished  slavery  at  the  time 
they  declared  their  independence.  There  are  many 
unanswerable  reasons  to  this  allegation ;  or  reasons 
that  will  be  deemed  unanswerable,  by  that  portion 
of  mankind  who  regard  life  as  it  actually  exists,  in 
its  practical  aspects  and  influences.  There  is  not 
now,  nor  has  there  ever  been  since  the  separation  of 


598  CONDITION  OF  THE  SLAVES. 

the  colonies  fk>m  the  mother  country,  any  power  to 
emancipate  the  slaves,  except  that  which  belongs  to 
their  masters.  This  reason  might  satisfy  most  prac 
tical  men  of  the  impossibility  of  instantly  achieving 
so  desirable  an  object.  That  sort  of  humanity,  which 
regards  the  evils  of  a  distant  and  alien  people,  and 
which,  at  the  same  time,  turns  a  cold  eye  on  the  suf 
ferings  of  those  at  hand,  is,  to  say  the  least,  as  useless 
as  it  is  suspicious.  There  is  scarcely  a  nation  in  Eu 
rope,  if,  indeed,  there  be  one,  that  has  not  a  propor 
tion  of  its  population,  that  is  quite  equal  to  the  pro 
portion  the  slaves  of  America  bear  to  the  whites, 
which  is  not  quite  as  low  in  moral  debasement,  the 
name  of  liberty  alone  excepted,  and  which,  as  a 
whole,  endure  much  more  of  physical  suffering  than 
the  negroes  of  America. 

The  condition  of  the  American  slave  varies,  of 
course,  with  circumstances.  In  some  few  portions 
of  the  country,  he  is  ill  dealt  by.  In  most  districts 
his  labour  is  sufficiently  light,  his  clothing  is  adapted 
to  the  climate,  and  his  food  is,  I  believe,  every  where 
abundant.  The  strongest  evidence,  after  all,  which 
can  be  given,  that  the  amount  of  animal  suffering 
among  the  American  slaves  is  not  great,  (there  are 
exceptions,  of  course,)  is  the  fact  that  they  are  a  light- 
hearted  and  a  laughing  race.  I  am  very  ready  to 
grant  that  ignorance,  and  absence  of  care,  are  apt  to 
produce  hilarity,  and  that  some  of  the  most  degraded 
and  least  intellectual  people  of  the  earth,  are  among 
the  gayest ;  but  I  believe  that  it  is  a  rule  in  nature, 
that  where  there  is  much  animal  suffering  there  is  an 
animal  exhibition  of  its  existence. 

There  is  still  a  higher,  and  a  very  numerous  class 
of  American  slaves,  who  are  far  better  instructed, 
better  clothed,  and  better  fed,  and  who  are  altogether 
a  superior  race  to  the  lowest  class"  of  the  European 
peasants.  I  mean  the  domestic  servants,  and  those 
who  labour  as  mechanics  and  artisans. 


MELIORATION  OF  THE  CONDITION  OF  BLACKS.    599 

While  on  this  branch  of  the  subject,  I  shall  take 
occasion  to  say,  that  yearly  meliorations  in  the  con 
dition  of  the  slaves  (and  of  the  blacks  generally,)  are 
taking  place  in  some  one  part  of  the  country  or  other. 
Several  unjust  and  exceedingly  oppressive  laws,  that 
were  the  fruits  of  colonial  policy,  have  been  repealed, 
or  greatly  qualified ;  and  public  opinion  is  making  a 
steady  advance  to  the  general  improvement,  and,  I 
think,  to  the  final  liberation  of  the  race.  Although 
these  changes  are  not  as  rapid  as  they  might  be,  even 
with  a  due  regard  to  policy,  and  far  less  rapid  than 
most  good  men  could  wish,  it  is  a  course  that  is  more 
likely  to  be  attended  with  less  positive  injury  to  the 
race  of  beings  that  true  philanthropy  would  so  gladly 
serve,  than  one  as  headlong  and  as  ill-advised  as  mere 
declaimers  and  pretenders  would  dictate. 

I  think  no  candid  man  will  deny  the  difficulty  of 
making  two  or  three  millions  of  people,  under  any 
circumstances,  strip  themselves,  generally  of  half 
their  possessions,  and,  in  many  instances,  of  all. 
There  are  few  nations  in  Europe,  at  this  hour,  in 
which  the  poorer  classes  would  not  be  relieved  from 
serious  pressure,  would  they,  who  have  the  means, 
tax  themselves  to  discharge  the  debts  which  are  the 
causes  of  so  much  of  the  heavy  impositions  of  their 
respective  governments.  Now,  this  would  be  a  meas 
ure  that  would  do  good  to  millions,  great  and  almost 
inconceivable  good,  and  harm  to  none  but  to  them  that 
paid ;  whereas,  a  sudden,  or  any  very  violent  eman 
cipation  of  the  slaves  of  America,  would  ruin  those 
who  did  it,  and  scarcely  do  less  than  ruin  half,  or 
even  more,  of  those  in  whose  behalf  the  charitable 
act  would  be  performed.  Let  me  be  understood.  I 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  much  more  than  is  done 
might  not  be  done,  prudently,  and  with  safety ;  nor 
do  I  mean  to  say  that  most  of  those  who  find  them 
selves  in  possession  of  a  species  of  property,  that  they 
have  been  educated  to  think  a  natural  and  just  acqui- 


600  THE  SHAME  OF  THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 

sition,  think  much  of  the  matter  at  all ;  but  what  I 
would  wish  to  express  is,  that  they  who  do  think 
calmly  and  sincerely  on  the  subject,  see  and  feel  all 
these  difficulties,  and  that  they  weaken  efforts  that 
would  otherwise  produce  an  effect  more  visible  than 
the  sentiment  which  I  think  is  silently  working  its 
way  throughout  the  whole  of  this  nation. 

In  considering  the  question  of  American  slavery, 
in  reference  to  the  past,  it  is  plain  that  Europe  has 
been  an  equal  participator  in  all  that  there  is  of 
shame,  or  sin,  in  the  transaction.  There  can  be  no 
charge  more  vapid  and  unjust,  than  for  an  European 
to  reproach  the  American  with  the  existence  of  slave 
ry  in  his  country.  That  the  American  is  in  the  en 
joyment  of  greater  power  to  do  natural  justice  than 
the  European,  is  just  as  true,  as  that,  in  most  things, 
he  does  it.  That  slavery  is  an  evil  of  which  the  great 
majority  of  the  Americans  themselves,  who  have  no 
present  agency  in  its  existence,  would  gladly  be  rid 
of,  is  manifest,  since  they  have  abolished  it  in  so  many 
States  already;  but  that  it  is  an  evil  not  to  be  shaken 
off  by  sounding  declarations,  and  fine  sentiments,  any 
man,  who  looks  calmly  into  the  subject,  must  see. 
But  so  far  as  a  comparison  between  Europe  and 
America  is  concerned,  let  us,  for  an  instant,  examine 
the  exceedingly  negative  merit  of  the  former.  Is  it 
not  a  fact  that  the  policy  of  all  America  was  for  more 
than  a  century  controlled  by  Europe,  and  was  not 
this  scourge  introduced  under  that  policy  ?  Has  that 
policy,  in  Europe,  been  yet  abandoned  ?  Let  us  take 
the  two  most  prominent  nations  boldly  to  task  at 
once ;  does  England  or  France,  for  instance,  at  this 
moment,  own  a  foot  of  land  on  earth,  where  black 
slaves  can  be  profitable,  and  where  they  do  not  use 
them  ?*  It  is  absurd  for  France,  or  for  England,  to 


*  It  is  well  known  that  a  negro  would  be  next  to  nothing  in 
the  Canadas,  &c. 


EMANCIPATION.  601 

say,  we  have  no  slaves  in  our  respective  kingdoms, 
properly  so  called,  when  every  body  knows  that  the 
one  is  at  this  moment  filled  with  white  beggars,  and 
the  other  with  paupers  who  are  supported  by  the* 
public  purse,  and  both  for  the  simple  reason  that  they 
are  overflowing  with  population.  It  is  true,  that  two 
centuries  ago,  when  they  had  more  room,  they  did 
not  import  negroes  from  Guinea ;  but  it  is,  also,  just 
as  true,  that  they  sent  their  ships  to  convey  them  to 
colonies  which  are  situated  in  climates  where  they 
might  repay  them  for  their  trouble.  It  is  as  puerile 
as  it  is  unjust,  therefore,  for  these  two  countries, 
(most  others  might  be  included,)  to  pretend  to  any 
exclusive  exemption  from  the  sin  or  the  shame  of 
slavery. 

The  merit  of  Christendom  on  the  subject  of  the 
wrongs  of  Africa,  is,  at  the  best,  but  equivocal.  Yet, 
such  as  it  is,  the  meed  is  better  due  to  the  United 
States  than  to  any  other  nation.  They  were  the 
first  to  abolish  the  trade  in  human  flesh,  though  the 
nation,  of  all  others,  that  might  most  have  reaped 
that  short-sighted,  but  alluring  profit,  which  tempted 
men  to  the  original  wrong.  Had  not  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  abolished  this  trade,  there  is  no 
doubt  millions  of  acres  might  have  sooner  been 
brought  into  lucrative  cultivation,  and  the  present 
generation  at  least  would  have  been  millions  the 
richer.  The  whole  body  of  the  whites  might  have 
become  a  set  of  taskmasters  to  gather  wealth  from  the 
labour  of  the  blacks.  No  doubt  true  policy  dictated 
the  course  they  have  taken,  and  they  have  but  a  very 
negative  merit  in  pursuing  it :  still  it  should  always 
be  remembered,  that  what  has  been  done,  was  done 
by  those  who  might  have  profited  in  security  by  a 
different  course,  and  by  those,  too,  who  had  been 
educated  in  the  shackles  of  a  deeply-rooted  prejudice 
on  the  subject. 

In  reproaching  the  Americans  with  incongruity 
3F 


602    THE  NORTHERN  AND  SOUTHERN  MAN. 

between  their  practices  and  their  professions,  two 
or  three  points  are  very  necessary  to  be  remember 
ed.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  true,  as  respects  neal 
7,000,000  of  the  ten  that  comprise  their  population  ; 
for  they  have  given  freedom  and  (essentially)  equai 
rights  to  those  blacks  who  remain  among  them.  The 
very  condensation  of  the  interests  of  slavery  adds4 
however,  to  the  difficulty  of  the  subject,  since  it 
makes  the  loss  fall  on  a  comparatively  reduced  num 
ber.  The  northern  men  had  to  do  one  of  two  things  ; 
to  separate  their  fortunes  from  a  portion  of  their 
countrymen,  to  whom  they  were  bound  by  the  ties 
of  fellowship,  blood,  common  interests,  and  common 
descent,  or  submit  to  be  parties  to  an  union  in  which 
some  of  the  other  parties  were  slave-holders.  They 
were,  in  fact,  slave-holders  themselves,  at  the  time  of 
the  compact,  so  that  it  would  have  been  absurd  to  be 
very  fastidious  in  the  matter ;  and  there  would  have 
been  but  little  wisdom  in  rejecting  so  much  positive 
good,  in  order  to  assert  an  abstract  principle,  that 
could  be  attended  with  no  single  practical  benefit. 
The  southern  States  would  have  held  their  slaves, 
had  the  northern  refused  to  have  joined  them  to  make 
one  nation  ;  and,  so  far  as  humanity  is  concerned,  the 
negroes  would  not  have  been  so  well  off,  since  they 
now  feel  the  influence  of  northern  policy,  while  war 
and  bloodshed,  and  all  the  evils  of  a  dangerous  rivalry 
that  would  have  arisen  between  men  whom  nature 
•had  made  friends  and  brothers,  are  avoided.  In  short, 
this  is  a  reproach  against  the  northern  man,  that  is 
more  likely  to  be  made  by  those  who  view  the 
Union,  and  the  continued  harmony  which  pervades 
these  vast  regions,  with  unquiet  jealousy,  than  by 
any  reasoning  and  practical  philanthropist. 

As  to  the  southern  man  himself,  he  is  placed,  like 
so  many  nations  of  other  quarters  of  the  globe,  in  an 
unfortunate  predicament,  that  time  and  society,  and 
jail  the  multiplied  interests  of  life,  render  so  difficult 


THEORY    AND    PRACTICE.  603 

to  change.  The  profession  of  the  southern  man  is  un 
questionably  that  of  equal  rights  ;  and  it  is  undeniable 
that  he  holds  the  black  in  slavery :  but  this  does  not 
involve  quite  so  great  an  absurdity  as  one  would  at 
first  imagine.  The  slave-holders  of  the  present  day 
(viewed  as  a  body)  are  just  as  innocent  of  the  crea 
tion  of  slavery,  as  their  fellow-citizens  of  New- York 
or  Connecticut ;  and  the  citizens  of  New- York  01 
Connecticut  are  just  as  innocent  of  the  creation  of 
slavery  as  the  citizens  of  London  or  Paris.  But  the 
citizens  of  the  two  former  States  have  a  merit  in  the 
matter,  that  the  citizens  of  neither  of  the  towns  named 
can  claim,  since  they  have  stripped  themselves  of 
property  to  give  freedom  to  their  blacks,  while  those 
who  were  parties  to  the  original  wrong  have  contrib 
uted  nothing  to  the  measure  they  so  much  urge.  But 
is  it  not  possible  to  assert  a  principle  under  acknow 
ledged  limitations  ?  The  black  man  in  the  southern 
States  of  this  Union' is  not  considered  a  citizen  at  all. 
It  would  not  be  safe  to  consider  him  a  citizen,  in  a 
country  of  equal  political  rights,  since  he  is  far  too 
ignorant,  and  must,  for  a  generation  at  least,  remain 
too  ignorant,  to  exercise,  with  sufficient  discretion, 
the  privileges  of  a  citizen  in  a  free  government.  It 
would,  if  any  thing,  be  more  prudent  for  the  Virginian 
and  Carolinian  to  admit  boys  of  twelve  years  of  age 
to  vote  and  to  legislate,  than  to  admit  their  blacks,  in 
their  present  moral  condition,  without  having  any 
reference  to  the  danger  of  a  personal  dissension. 
Equal  rights  do  not,  in  any  part  of  America,  imply  a 
broad,  general,  and  unequivocal  equality.  It  is  the 
glory  of  the  institutions  of  this  country,  that  they  have 
never  run  into  practical  excesses,  in  order  to  satisfy 
craving  theories.  By  equal  rights,  the  citizen  of  Con 
necticut,  (and,  I  believe,  no  man  doubts  his  rational 
and  unlimited  freedom,)  understands  that  all  who  have 
reached  a  certain  standard  of  qualification,  shall  be 
equal  in  power  and  that  all  others  shall  be  equal  in 


604  THEORY    AND    PRACTICE. 

protection.  He  does  not  give  political  power  to  the 
pauper,  nor  to  females,  nor  to  minors,  nor  to  idiots, 
nor  yet  even  to  his  priests.  All  he  aims  at  is  jus 
tice  ;  and  in  order  to  do  justice,  he  gives  political 
rights  to  all  those  who,  he  thinks,  can  use  them 
without  abuse.  He  would  be  culpable  only,  if  any 
class  existed  in  his  community,  who  might,  with  a 
little  care,  freely  enjoy  these  rights,  did  he  neglect  to 
resort  to  that  care.  He  therefore  excludes  only  those 
who,  on  great,  general,  and  lasting  principles,  are  dis 
qualified  from  exercising  political  power.  The  situa 
tion  of  the  Carolinian  is  different,  but  his  principle  is 
quite  the  same :  he  excludes  more ;  for,  unhappily, 
when  he  arrived  at  the  knowledge  and  the  practice 
of  a  liberal  policy  himself,  he  found  a  numerous  class 
of  human  beings  existing  within  his  borders,  who 
were  not  competent  to  its  exercise.  He  had  but  a 
choice  between  a  seeming  inconsistency,  or  the  entire 
abandonment  of  what  he  thought  a  great  good.  He 
chose  to  make  all  equal,  who  could  bear  equality; 
and  in  that,  he  has  done  exactly  what  his  northern 
countryman  has  done,  and  no  more.  Should  he  un 
necessarily  neglect,  however,  to  qualify  these  excep 
tions  to  enjoy  a  better  state  of  being,  he  then  becomes 
inconsistent. 

I  think  these  considerations  must  lead  us  to  the 
conclusion,  that  most  of  the  merits  of  this  question 
lie  in  the  fact  of  how  much  has  been  done  and  is 
now  doing,  towards  effecting  a  change  in  what  is  ad 
mitted  to  be  a  prodigious  evil.  I  feel  confident  that 
no  discreet  father,  or  husband,  or  brother,  could  ask 
a  Carolinian,  who  was  existing  in  a  state  of  highly 
polished  society,  and  who  enjoyed  all  the  advantages 
of  great  moral  improvement,  to  admit,  at  once,  a  body 
of  men  who  had  been  nurtured  in  the  habits  of  slave 
ry,  with  all  their  ignorance  and  animal  qualities,  and 
who  are  numerically  superior,  to  a  participation  of 
equal  political  rights.  Such  a  measure  would  induce 


EMANCIPATION.  605 

an  absolute  abandonment  of  their  country  and  prop 
erty  on  the  part  of  the  whites,  or  it  would  involve  a 
degradation,  and  abuses  that  are  horrible  to  reflect 
on.  Individuals  may  and  have  parted  with  their 
means  of  personal  indulgence  to  give  liberty  to  their 
slaves ;  but  it  is  too  much  to  expect  it  from  commu 
nities  :  nor  would  discreet  individuals  do  it,  if  it  were 
to  be  a  general  act,  since  a  disorganization  of  society 
would  be  an  inevitable  consequence. 

The  true  question,  and  that  in  which  the  friends 
of  humanity  should  feel  the  deepest  interest,  is  that 
connected  with  the  steps  that  are  taken  to  lead  to 
the  general  emancipation,  which  must  sooner  or  later 
arrive. 

At  the  period  of  the  declaration  of  the  indepen 
dence  of  the  United  States,  slavery,  existed  in  all  the 
British  colonies.  The  blacks  were  not  numerous  in 
the  northern  provinces,  for,  there,  the  white  was  the 
better  labourer.  Still  there  were  slaves  in  every  one 
of  the  thirteen  original  States  of  this  Union.  The 
proportion  of  slaves  in  some  of  the  middle  States 
was  nearly  equal  to  what  it  now  is  in  some  of  the 
southern.  Massachusetts  (which  in  1790  had  5,463 
blacks,)  put  such  a  construction  on  its  own  bill  of 
rights  as  abolished  slavery.  This  was  the  first  measure 
of  the  sort  that  was  ever  taken  on  the  American  con 
tinent,  I  presume.  The  example  has  been  succes 
sively  followed,  at  different  periods,  by  all  the  north 
ern  and  middle  States,  until  slavery  is  either  abolished 
in  fact,  or  by  laws  that  have  a  prospective  operation, 
in  nine  out  of  the  fourteen  States  that  adopted  the 
present  constitution  in  1789.  You  may  form  some 
idea  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  rid  of  such  an  evil  as 
slavery,  by  observing  the  caution  with  which  these 
comparatively  little  encumbered  States  have  ap 
proached  the  subject.  Perhaps  twenty  years  are 
necessary  to  effect  the  object  humanely,  even  after 
the  policy  of  a  community  is  perfectly  decided. 
3F2 


606  EMANCIPATION. 

Numberless  influences  have,  at  the  same  time, 
been  at  work,  however,  to  extend  the  limits  in  which 
slavery  might  exist.  Alabama  and  Mississippi  formed 
parts  of  Georgia ;  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  were 
within  the  ancient  limits  of  Virginia  ;  and  Louisiana, 
and  Missouri,  and  the  Floridas,  were  acquired  by 
purchase.  The  people  of  Virginia  and  Georgia,  in 
ceding  their  territory,  were  not  disposed  to  cede  the 
right  of  emigration,  with  the  privilege  of  carrying 
their  wealth  with  them  ;  and  slavery,  in  consequence, 
became  extended  "over  the  four  States  named.  Slaves 
were  found  in  the  two  others,  and  in  the  Floridas. 
In  this  manner  the  eleven  present  slave-holding  States 
came  into  existence.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  States 
of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  were  organized  off  what 
was  once  called  the  north-western  territory.  These, 
added  to  the  nine  States  that  had  abolished  the  policy 
of  slavery,  and  by  the  subsequent  acquisition  of  Maine, 
brought  their  whole  number  up  to  thirteen. 

I  think  that  the  influence  of  free  opinions,  if  I  may 
so  express  it,  is  steadily  on  the  increase.  It  is  not 
the  smallest  evil  of  slavery,  that  it  begets  in  the  mas 
ter  an  indifference  to  its  existence,  and  that  it  gives 
birth  and  durability  to  cruel  and  lasting  prejudices. 
That  these  prejudices  must  be  rooted  out  of  the  ma 
jority  of  the  citizens  of  the  southern  States  them 
selves,  ere  slavery  shall  cease  to  exist,  is  indisputable, 
since  no  power  but  their  own  can  extinguish  it.  But 
my  friend  assures  me,  that  within  his  recollection,  an 
immense  change  has  taken  place  in  this  particular. 
Twenty  years  ago,  even  in  New- York,  a  general  and 
deep  prejudice  existed  against  this  unfortunate  class 
of  human  beings.  It  is  rapidly  disappearing.  It  is 
true,  that  the  sort  of  commingling  of  the  races,  which 
a  certain  class  of  philanthropists  are  much  fonder  of 
proclaiming  than  they  would  be  fond  of  practising, 
does  not  occur,  nor  is  it  likely  very  soon  to  occur  in 
this  country.  Still  there  is  every  disposition  to  do 


IMPEDIMENTS  TO  MINGLING  THE  RACES.         607 

the  blacks  justice,  though  there  is  none  whatever  to 
mingle  the  blood.  I  have  heard  of  instances  in  which 
human  beings  of  peculiar  colour  and  form  were 
esteemed  in  Europe  as  curiosities ;  but  I  fancy,  if 
they  abounded  in  any  country,  there  would  be  found 
the  same  natural  desire,  in  that  portion  of  its  in 
habitants  who  believed  themselves  to  possess  the 
physical  advantage,  to  retain  it,  as  is  now  found  here. 
It  is  odd  enough,  that  Europe,  which,  for  so  many 
centuries,  has  been  making  patents  of  nobility  ob 
stacles  to  matrimony,  should  decry  so  loudly  against  a 
people  who  hesitate  a  little  at  intermingling  colours. 

But  there  will  still  be  a  greater  objection  against 
this  mingling  of  the  races,  for  at  least  a  long  time  to 
come.  With  few  exceptions,  the  blacks  of  America 
belong  to  an  ill-educated  and  inferior  class.  When 
free,  they  are  left,  like  other  men,  to  look  after  their 
own  interests;  and  most  of  those,  who  have  charac 
ter  und  talent  enough  to  rise  above  the  condition  of 
menials,  push  their  fortunes  in  countries  where  they 
are  not  daily  and  hourly  offended  by  the  degradation 
of  their  caste.  I  think  this  circumstance  must  long 
keep  them  in  a  station  which  will  prevent  intermar 
riages.  You  will  admit,  too,  that  matrimony  is  very 
much  an  affair  of  taste;  and,  although  there  well 
may  be,  and  there  are,  portions  of  the  world  where 
white  colour  is  not  greatly  a<imired,  such  is  not  the 
case  here.  The  deep  reluctance  to  see  one's  pos 
terity  exhibiting  a  hue  different  from  one's  own,  is  to 
be  overcome,  ere  any  extensive  intercourse  can  oc 
cur  between  the  blacks  and  the  whites. 

The  probable  future  fate  of  the  blacks  of  Ameri 
ca,  is  a  subject  of  deep  and  painful  interest.  I  con 
fess,  however,  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  see  any 
great  danger  to  the  whites  in  their  increasing  num 
bers.  While  they  remain  ignorant,  their  efforts  must 
always  be  feeble  and  divided,  and,  as  they  become 
enlightened,  they  must  see  the  utter  impossibility  of 


608  A  MISTAKEN  OPINION. 

any  continued  success  in  a  rising  against  a  force  nu 
merically  and  morally  so  superior.  Although  the 
distances  in  America  seem  very  great  on  the  map, 
[he  inhabitants  have  contrived  the  means  of  bringing 
themselves  wonderfully  near  to  each  other.  The 
whites  in  the  whole  country  increase  faster  than  the 
blacks ;  and  I  think  it  will  be  found,  that  as  emanci 
pations  multiply,  the  disproportion  in  numbers  will 
be  still  greater,  and  always  in  favour  of  the  former. 
It  would  not  only  be  the  duty  of  the  northern  men, 
but  it  would  be  a  duty  readily  performed,  to  fly,  in 
case  of  need,  to  the  assistance  of  their  southern  neigh 
bours.  It  is  not  easy  to  suppose  circumstances  in 
which  the  white  population  of  the  southern  States, 
already  (as  a  whole)  two  to  one  against  the  slaves, 
armed,  intelligent,  organized,  and  possessing  the  im 
mense  moral  superiority  of  their  domestic  relations, 
should  not  be  sufficient  of  themselves  to  protect  their 
persons  and  property  against  a  rising.  The  only 
circumstances  in  which  the  danger  could  be  very  im 
minent  or  extensive,  would  be  in  the  event  of  a  foreign 
war;  and  then  their  common  country  would  be  a 
party,  and  the  aid  of  States  that  will  shortly  number 
of  themselves  twenty  or  thirty  milllions,  could  be 
commanded  in  their  defence. 

But  the  danger  of  slavery,  so  far  as  it  is  connected 
with  numbers,  has  its  own  cure.  No  man  will  keep 
a  negro  after  he  ceases  to  be  profitable,  any  more 
than  he  will  keep  an  extra  supply  of  other  animal 
force.  If  Carolina  can  bear  500,000  slaves,  Carolina 
will  probably  accumulate  that  number ;  but  after  she 
has  reached  the  point  where  policy  says  she  must 
stop,  instead  of  resorting  to  laws  to  retain  her  ne 
groes,  she  will  have  recourse  to  laws  to  get  rid  of 
them.  This,  to  an  European,  and  particularly  to  an 
Englishman,  who  knows  that  excessive  population  is 
the  greatest  burthen  of  his  own  country,  may  seem 
difficult ;  but  in  order  to  form  a  correct  opinion  of  a 


EXCESS  OF  BLACK  POPULATION.        609 

question  purely  American,  it  is  necessary  to  consider 
the  actual  state  of  things  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

The  already  .vast,  and  constantly  increasing  coast 
ing  trade  of  the  United  States,  offers  an  easy,  natural, 
and  perfectly  practicable  drain,  to  the  black  popula 
tion  of  the  south.  The  blacks  furnish,  already,  thou 
sands  of  sailors,  and  quite  useful  sailors  too,  and  they 
constitute  a  very  important  material  of  the  supply  of 
seamen,  in  considering  the  future  commercial  and 
nautical  power  of  this  confederation.  The  demand 
for  domestics  at  the  north,  too,  will,  for  many  years, 
continue  beyond  the  probability  of  a  white  supply. 
You  will  remember  that  experience  has  shown  that 
the  free  blacks  have  very  little  natural  increase,  and 
both  these  growing  demands  must  therefore  meet 
with  most  of  their  supplies  from  the  slave-holding 
States.  Then,  again,  the  proximity  of  the  West  In 
dies,  of  Mexico,  and  of  the  South  American  States, 
in  which  a  commingled  population  already  exists, 
offers  facilities  for  emigration,  that  Europe  does  not 
present.  The  slave  population  of  the  United  States 
may  reach  4  or  5,000,000,  but  (after  a  very  short  time) 
at  a  diminishing  rate  of  increase,*  and  then  I  think  it 
will  be  found  that  new  means  will  be  taken  to  get 
rid  of  them. 

In  forming  these  conjectures,  I  have  not  regarded 
the  narrowing  of  the  limits  of  slavery  by  the  constant 
advancement  of  opinion.  It  is  true,  that  the  surface 
on  which  slavery,  in  fact,  exists,  has,  on  the  whole, 

*  At  present  the  slave-holder  has  a  motive  for  increasing  his 
slaves,  since  he  can  sell  them  in  the  new  States ;  but  this  de 
mand  will,  of  course,  cease  as  the  new  States  get  full.  Louisiana 
has  recently  passed  a  law,  prohibiting  the  importation  of  slaves; 
a  fact  which  the  writer  thinks  proves  the  truth  of  his  theory. 
The  reader  will  always  recollect  that  slaves  cannot  be  imported 
into  the  United  States,  but  that  they  can  be  transported  from 
one  State  to  another,  unless  prohibitions  are  made  by  the  States 
themselves.  This  was  part  of  the  original  compact,  without 
which  the  southern  States  would  not  have  consented  to  the 
present  constitution 


610  MISSOURI. 

been  rather  enlarged  than  otherwise,  since  the  ex 
istence  of  the  confederation  ;  but  we  should  not  lose 
sight  of  the  circumstances  under  which  this  extension 
of  the  slave  region  has  been  effected. 

It  has  spread  with  the  diffusion  of  population,  over 
districts  that  were  originally  the  property  of  the  slave 
holders;  and  in  no  respect,  except  in  mere  territorial 
division,  has  there  been  any  virtual  enlargement  of 
its  political  limits,  unless  one  can  thus  call  the  en 
largement  of  the  borders  of  society.  It  is  true,  that 
when  Missouri  was  admitted  to  the  Union,  an  effort 
was  made  by  the  friends  of  the  blacks  (I  use  the  term 
technically)  to  abolish  slavery  in  that  State.  Had 
they  succeeded,  it  would  have  been  an  inroad  on  the 
ancient  limits;  but  their  defeat  ought  not  to  be  deem 
ed  an  extension  of  the  surface  occupied  by  slaves, 
since  slaves  were  there  before.  It  was  a  sort  of  at 
tempt  to  turn  the  flank  of  slavery,  or  to  get  into  its 
rear ;  whereas  I  think  it  manifest  that  the  great  vic 
tory  over  habits  and  prejudices,  which  true  policy 
will  be  sure  to  gain  in  time,  is  to  be  gained  by  press 
ing  steadily  on,  in  an  open,  manly,  but  cautious  and 
conciliating  manner,  in  its  front.  Ardent  and  steady 
a  friend  of  universal  liberty  as  you  know  me  to  be,  I 
am  by  no  means  sure,  that,  had  I  been  a  member  of 
that  Congress,  I  would  have  given  so  violent  an  alarm 
to  the  slave-holders  of  the  south,  as  to  have  contributed 
to  attempt  to  carry  that  law. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  witness  the  immense  supe 
riority  that  free  labour  possesses  over  slave  labour, 
and  to  examine  the  different  conditions  of  society  in 
a  State  without  slaves,  and  in  one  with,  to  see  that  a 
close  contact  must  be  destructive  to  the  principles 
of  slavery.  The  friends  of  emancipation  have  now 
a  noble  front,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mis 
sissippi.  I  even  think  that  accident  has  contributed 
to  throw  those  communities  most  in  advance,  which 
are  the  least  likely  to  retard  the  progress  of  emanci- 


MARYLAND.  611 

pation.  The  honest  and  affluent,  but  quiet  popula 
tion  of  Pennsylvania,  for  instance,  is  much  less  suited 
to  give  the  alarm  to  their  neighbours  of  Maryland, 
than  would  be  done  by  the  more  restless,  ever-busy 
people  of  New-England ;  while  their  example  is  left 
to  produce  its  undiminished  effect.  If  I  have  been 
correctly  informed,  public  opinion  and  sounder  views 
of  policy  are  making  great  progress  in  the  latter  State. 
The  inhabitants  begin  to  see  that  they  would  be  richer 
and  more  powerful  without  their  slaves  than  with 
them.  This  is  the  true  entering  wedge  of  argument ; 
and  juster  views  of  moral  truth  will  be  sure  to  follow 
convictions  of  interest,  as  they  have  followed,  and 
are  still  following,  emancipation  further  north. 

The  first  and  surest  sign  of  a  disposition  to  give 
freedom  to  the  slaves,  is  the  accumulation  of  the  free 
blacks,  since  they  are  not  only  a  positive  proof  that 
emancipation  exists,  but  they  argue  an  indifference 
to  slavery  in  the  whole  community.  In  Maryland, 
there  were  145,429  blacks  in  1810,  and  147,128  in 
1820.  During  the  same  time,  the  whites  increased 
from  235,117  to  260,222.  Emigration  retarded  the 
increase  of  the  two  races,  no  doubt ;  and  yet,  you 
Bee,  contrary  to  the  law  of  increase  in  most  of  the 
slave-holding  States,  the  whites  grew  faster  than  the 
blacks.  Now,  of  this  number  of  147,128  blacks, 
39,730  were  free.  This  is  a  very  large  proportion, 
and  I  hail  it  as  a  most  auspicious  omen.  In  point  of 
fact,  there  were  4,109  fewer  slaves  in  Maryland  in 
1820,  than  in  1810;  while  the  whites  had  increased 
25,105.  Indeed,  I  heard  very  many  enlightened  and 
respectable  men  in  Maryland  regret  that  slavery  ex 
isted  among  them  at  all ;  and  the  opinion  is  getting 
to  be  quite  common,  that  free  labour  is  the  most 
profitable.  Even  in  Virginia,  the  whites  have  in* 
creased  51,474,  during  the  same  ten  years,  while  the 
blacks  have  increased  only  38,954.  It  is  true,  the 
emigration  renders  these  results  a  little  doubtful ;  but 


f>12  PROSPECTS    OF    EMANCIPATION. 

the  fact  that  there  were,  in  J820,  36,889  free  blacks 
in  Virginia,  proves  something.  It  is  also  of  impor 
tance,  that  there  exist,  in  so  many  of  the  slave-holding 
States,  large  bodies  of  their  respective  communities, 
who  have  very  little  interest  in  the  perpetuation  of 
the  evil,  except  as  their  own  personal  welfare  is  con 
nected  with  that  of  society.  Although  the  latter  in 
fluence  is  one  of  moment,  it  is  also  one  that  may  in 
fluence  a  man  both  ways,  since  he  may  be  as  likely 
to  believe  that  the  interests  of  society  call  for  some 
relief  against  the  evil,  as  to  think  he  ought  to  sup 
port  it. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  lay  this  important  subject 
before  you  in  a  practical  form.  It  has  been  done 
rapidly,  and,  I  am  quite  certain,  very  imperfectly.  It 
is  proper  to  understand,  there  is  so  much  of  intimate 
detail  necessary  to  view  the  state  of  American  slavery 
with  discretion,  that  it  is  highly  probable  I  may  have 
fallen  into  error ;  but  I  still  think  you  will  find  the 
views  I  have  taken  of  it  not  without  some  plausibility. 
I  shall  sum  them  up,  together  with  the  leading  facts, 
in  as  few  words  as  possible. 

I  think  liberal  sentiments  towards  the  blacks  are 
rapidly  gaining  ground  in  most  of  the  southern  States.* 
Positive,  political  freedom  is  granted,  or  is  in  the 
course  of  being  granted  to  them,  in  thirteen  of  the 
twenty-four  communities  of  the  confederation.  Eman 
cipation,  geographically  speaking,  has  now  reached 
a  formidable  point  of  resistance  (on  account  of  the 
numbers  of  the  slaves,)  but  it  is  steadily  advancing 
through  the  powerful  agency  of  public  opinion. 
When  it  has  passed  this  point,  its  subsequent  march 
will,  I  think,  be  easier  and  more  rapid.  Tennessee 
and  Kentucky,  the  States  that  flank  Virginia,  have  by 
no  means  as  deep  an  interest  in  the  maintenance  of 

*  The  writer  does  not  mean  that  every  man  becomes  in  some 
degree  sensible  of  the  evil,  but  that  a  vast  number  do,  and  of 
men,  too,  who  are  likely  to  have  an  effect  on  legislation. 


SUMMARY    VIEW    OF    THE    SUBJECT.  613 

slavery,  as  the  States  further  south ;  and  I  think  it  is  not 
chimerical  to  hope  that,  by  the  aid  of  prospective  laws, 
many  are  now  living  who  may  see  slavery  limited  to 
the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  and  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
with  perhaps  a  belt  for  a  little  distance  on  each  side 
of  the  Mississippi.  In  the  mean  time,  the  advance 
of  opinion  is  steady  and  great.  Unless  the  Christian 
world  recedes,  its  final  success  is  inevitable.  I  shall 
not  incur  the  charge  of  empiricism  by  pretending  to 
predict  the  precise  period. 

I  do  not  think  that  slavery,  under  any  circum 
stances,  can  entail  very  serious  danger  to  the  dominion 
of  the  whites  in  this  country,  for  at  least  a  century 
or  two.  Districts  might  be  ravaged,  beyond  a  doubt; 
but  the  prodigious  superiority  of  the  whites,  in  every 
thing  that  constitutes  force,  is  the  pledge  of  their 
power. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  the  number  of  the  slaves 
will  be  limited,  as  a  matter  of  course,  by  necessity. 
There  is  a  point  beyond  which  they  would  be  a 
burden.  Nor  is  that  point  so  distant  as  we  commonly 
imagine.  Perhaps  it  has  been  already  obtained  in 
some  of  the  older  States. 

I  think  that  the  free  black  population  (except  in  the 
way  of  emancipation)  does  not  increase,  or,  at  least, 
not  materially;  and  that  the  proportion  between  the 
whites  and  the  blacks  is  steadily  growing  in  favour 
of  the  former ;  that,  in  future,  it  will  even  grow  faster; 
that  emigration,  the  navy,  commerce,  and  unsettled 
habits,  will  tend  to  repress  the  increase  of  the  blacks, 
and  to  consume  their  numbers  ;  and  that  the  time  of 
the  intermingling  of  the  races  to  any  great  extent  is 
still  remote. 

Though  there  is  much  in  these  views  to  excite  the 

regrets  of  a  man  of  pure  philanthropy,  it  appears  to 

me  that  the  cause  of  emancipation  is  far  from  being 

as  bad  as  it  is  generally  supposed  to  be  in  Europe. 

3G 


614  A    MORAL    WRONG. 

Impatience  is  a  characteristic  of  zeal.  Bat  impa 
tience,  though  creditable  to  the  feelings  of  the  Eu« 
ropean,  sometimes  leads  him,  on  this  subject,  into 
assertions  that  might  provoke  comparisons  which 
would  not  be  so  honourable  to  his  own  society,  per 
haps,  as  he  is  apt  to  fancy.  Impatience,  however, 
on  the  part  of  the  American,  may  even  do  worse ;  it 
may  retard  the  very  consummation  he  wishes.  Mild 
ness,  candour,  and  conciliation,  are  his  weapons  ;  and 
I  think  they  will  be  irresistible.  Although  an  ardent 
wisher  of  the  happy  moment  of  general  emancipation, 
I  always  turn  with  disgust  from  those  cold  and  heart 
less  paragraphs  which  occasionally  appear  in  the 
northern  journals  of  this  country,  and  which,  under 
a  superficial  pretension  to  humanity,  trifle  with  the 
safety  and  happiness  of  two  of  their  fellow-citizens, 
in  order  to  give  an  affected  aid  to  the  undoubtedly 
righteous  cause  of  one  black  man.  If  this  species  of 
irritating  language  did  good,  if  it  did  no  harm  by 
hardening  men  in  their  opinions,  it  would  be  dis 
agreeable  ;  but  under  the  actual  state  of  things,  it  is 
far  worse  than  useless.  The  general  tone  of  the 
press,  however,  is  sufficiently  amicable ;  and  all  those 
who  understand  the  difference  between  argumenta 
tion  and  judgment,  have  reason  to  hope  it  may  long 
continue  so. 

But  physical  suffering,  especially  in  a  country  like 
this,  is  not  the  prominent  grievance  of  slavery.  It  is 
the  deep  moral  degradation,  which  no  man  has  a 
right  to  entail  on  another,  that  forms  the  essence  of 
its  shame.  God  has  planted  in  all  our  spirits  secret 
but  lasting  aspirations  after  a  state  of  existence, 
higher  than  that  which  we  enjoy,  and  no  one  has  a 
right  to  say  that  such  are  the  limits  beyond  which 
your  reason,  and,  consequently,  your  mental  being, 
shall  not  pass.  That  men,  equally  degraded,  exist 
under  systems  that  do  not  openly  avow  the  principle 


THE    INDIANS.  615 

of  domestic  slavery,  is  no  excuse  for  the  perpetuation 
of  such  a  scourge,  though  circumstances  and  neces 
sity  may  urge  a  great  deal  in  extenuation  of  its 
present  existence. 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 

SfC.  fyc. 


New- York, 


THE  next  subject  of  interest,  after  the  unfortunate 
descendants  of  the  Africans,  that  has  been  brought 
into  my  notice  by  this  southern  tour,  is  the  remnant 
of  the  original  possessors  of  these  regions.  By  far 
the  most  numerous,  and  the  most  important  of  the 
native  tribes,  which  still  continue  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  whites,  are  those  which  occupy  re 
servations  in  Georgia,  the  Floridas,  Alabama,  Missis 
sippi,  and  Tennessee.  The  lingering  fragments  of  a 
hundred  tribes  are  certainly  seen  scattered  over  the 
immense  surface  of  this  country,  living  on  greater  or 
less  tracts  that  had  been  secured  to  them,  or  dwelling 
by  sufferance  in  the  woods  ;  but  the  only  people  now 
residing  east  of  the  Mississippi  who  can  aspire  to  the 
names  of  nations,  are  the  Creeks,  the  Choctaws,  the 
Chickasaws,  the  Cherokees,  and  the  Seminoles,  all 
of  whom  dwell  in  the  portion  of  country  I  have 
named. 

As  a  rule,  the  red  man  disappears  before  the  supe 
rior  moral  and  physical  influence  of  the  white,  just 
as  I  believe  the  black  man  will  eventually  do  the 
same  thing,  unless  he  shall  seek  shelter  in  some  other 
region.  In  nine  cases  in  ten,  the  tribes  have  gradu 
ally  removed  west;  and  there' is  now  a  confused  as- 


616  THE    INDIANS. 

semblage  of  nations  and  languages  collected  on  the 
immense  hunting  grounds  of  the  Prairies. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  any  thing  of  the  numbers  of 
the  Indians,  except  by  conjecture,  since  they  are  not 
considered  as  coming  properly  within  the  computa 
tions  of  the  censuses.  Perhaps  the  five  nations 
named  may  contain  not  far  from  twenty  thousand 
souls.  It  is  not  probable  that  all  the  Indians  that 
live  within  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States, 
stretching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  materially 
exceed  120,000,  if  indeed  they  reach  that  amount. 
Still  I  do  not  pretend  to  any  great  accuracy  in  my 
estimates.  Their  numbers,  in  this  quarter  of  America, 
have  always  been  exaggerated;  and  the  sounding 
terms  of  nations  and  tribes  have  contributed  to  the 
extension  of  a  mistaken  idea  of  their  importance. 

The  ordinary  manner  of  the  disappearance  of  the 
Indian,  is  by  a  removal  deeper  into  the  forest.  Still, 
many  linger  near  the  graves  of  their  fathers,  to  which 
their  superstitions,  no  less  than  a  fine  natural  feeling, 
lend  a  deeper  interest.  The  fate  of  the  latter  is  in 
evitable  ;  they  become  victims  to  the  abuses  of  civil 
ization,  without  ever  attaining  to  any  of  its  moral 
elevation. 

As  might  be  supposed,  numberless  divisions  of  these 
people,  when  the  country  was  discovered,  were  found 
in  possession  of  districts  along  the  coast,  and  deriving 
a  principal  means  of  support  from  the  ocean.  They 
were  fishermen  rather  than  hunters,  though  the  savage 
state  ordinarily  infers  a  resort  to  both  pursuits.  Most 
of  these  people,  too,  retired  reluctantly  from  a  view 
of  "  the  great  salt  lake,"  but  some  were  environed  by 
the  whites  before  they  were  properly  aware  of  the 
blighting  influence  of  the  communion;  and,  getting 
gradually  accustomed  to  their  presence,  they  prefer 
red  remaining  near  the  places  where  they  had  first 
drawn  breath.  Trifling  districts  of  territory  have 
been,  in  every  instance  in  which  they  were  sufficient- 


THE    INDIANS.  617 

iy  numerous  to  make  such  a  provision  desirable,  se 
cured  to  them,  and  on  these  little  tracts  of  land  many 
of  them  still  remain.  I  have  visited  one  or  two  of 
their  establishments. 

In  point  of  civilization,  comforts,  and  character, 
the  Indians,  who  remain  near  the  coasts,  are  about 
on  a  level  with  the  lowest  classes  of  European  peas 
antry.  Perhaps  they  are  somewhat  below  the  English, 
but  I  think  not  below  the  Irish  peasants.  They  are 
much  below  the  condition  of  the  mass  of  the  slaves. 
It  is  but  another  proof  of  the  wayward  vanity  of  man, 
that  the  latter  always  hold  the  Indians  in  contempt, 
though  it  is  some  proof  that  they  feel  their  own  con 
dition  to  be  physically  better :  morally,  in  one  sense, 
it  certainly  is  not. 

Many  of  these  Atlantic  Indians  go  to  sea.  They 
are  quite  often  found  in  the  whalers,  and,  in  some  in 
stances,  in  the  vessels  of  war.  An  officer  in  the  navy 
has  told  me  that  he  once  knew  a  Montauk  Indian 
who  was  a  captain  of  the  main-top  in  a  sloop  of  war ; 
and  in  another  instance,  a  flag  officer  had  his  gig 
manned  by  Indians.  They  make  active  and  very 
obedient  seamen,  but  are  never  remarkable  for 
strength.  The  whole  number  of  them  who  now  go 
to  sea,  does  not,  however,  probably  exceed  a  hundred 
or  two.* 


*The  writer,  while  in  America,  heard  an  anecdote  which 
may  give  some  idea  of  the  notions  of  retributive  justice  which 
linger  so  long  in  the  philosophy  of  an  Indian,  and  which  is, 
probably,  the  basis  of  his  desire  for  revenge,  since  he  is  well 
known  to  be  as  eminently  grateful  as  he  is  vindictive.  The 
whalers  always  take  their  reward  in  a  portion  of  the  profits  of 
the  voyage.  An  Indian  made  several  voyages  in  succession,  in 
the  same  ship  ;  he  found,  at  his  return,  that  bad  luck,  advances, 
and  the  supplies  of  an  extravagant  family  at  home,  left  him 
always  in  debt.  "  What  shall  I  do?"  was  the  question  put  to 
his  owner,  as  each  unfortunate  balance  was  exhibited.  "  You 
must  go  to  sea."  To  sea  he  went,  and,  as  stated,  for  four  or 
five  years,  always  with  the  same  result.  At  length,  good  for 
tune,  with  a  proper  amount  of  preventive  castigation  on  his  im- 

3  G2 


618  A    SACHEM. 

I  accompanied  Cadwallader  on  a  visit  to  a  con 
nexion,  who  lives  within  forty  miles  of  New- York, 
on  the  adjacent  island  of  Nassau  (Long  Island.) 
The  uncle  of  my  friend  was  a  man  of  an  extensive 
hereditary  estate,  on  which  there  might  have  been 
a  reservation  of  a  few  thousand  acres  of  woods. 
While  shooting  over  this  forest,  one  day,  the  proprie 
tor  asked  me  if  I  felt  any  desire  to  see  an  Indian 
king.  Surprised  at  such  a  question,  in  such  a  place, 
an  explanation  was  requested.  He  told  me  that  an 
Indian,  who  claimed  to  be  a  descendant  of  the  ancient 
Sachems,  then  held  his  court  in  his  woods,  and  that 
a  walk  of  fifteen  minutes  would  bring  us  into  the 
presence  of  King  Peter.  We  went. 

I  found  this  Indian,  dwelling  with  his  family,  in  a 
wigwam  of  a  most  primitive  construction.  It  was  in 
the  form  of  a  bee-hive,  or  rather  of  a  very  high  dome. 
The  covering  was  made  of  a  long,  tough  grass,  that 
grows  near  the  sea,  and  the  texture  was  fine  and  even 
beautiful.  A  post  in  the  centre  supported  the  fabric, 
which  was  shaped  by  delicate  curving  poles.  A  hole 
in  the  top  admitted  the  light,  and  allowed  the  smoke 
to  pass  out ;  and  the  fire  was  near  enough  to  the  up 
right  post  to  permit  a  kettle  to  be  suspended  from 
one  of  its  knots  (or  cut  branches)  near  enough  to  feel 
the  influence  of  the  heat.  The  door  was  a  covering 
of  mats,  and  the  furniture  consisted  of  a  few  rude 
chairs,  baskets,  and  a  bed,  that  was  neither  savage, 
nor  yet  such  as  marks  the  civilized  man.  The  attire 
of  the  family  was  partly  that  of  the  one  condition,  and 
partly  that  of  the  other.  The  man  himself  was  a 
full-blooded  Indian,  but  his  manner  had  that  species 

provident  wife,  before  he  sailed,  brought  the  balance  on  his  side. 
The  money  was  of  course  tendered  ;  but  for  a  long  time  he  re 
fused  to  receive  it,  insisting  that  justice  required  that  his  owners 
should  now  go  to  sea,  where  it  would  seem  he  had  not  enjoyed 
himself  quite  as  much  as  he  believed  the  other  party  to  the 
contract  had  done  on  shore. 


INDIAN    RESERVATIONS.  619 

of  sullen  deportment  that  betrays  the  disposition 
without  the  boldness  of  the  savage.  He  complained 
that  "  basket  stuff"  was  getting  scarce,  and  spoke  of 
an  intention  of  removing  his  wigwam  shortly  to  some 
other  estate. 

The  manufacture  of  baskets  and  brooms  is  a  com 
mon  employment  of  all  the  Indians  who  reside  near 
the  settlements.  They  feed  on  game,  and,  sometimes, 
like  the  gypsies,  they  make  free  with  poultry,  though 
in  common  they  are  rigidly  honest;  nearly  always  so, 
unless  corrupted  by  much  intercourse  with  the  whites. 
With  the  proceeds  of  their  labour  they  purchase 
blankets,  powder,  and  such  other  indulgences  as  ex 
ceed  their  art  to  manufacture.  King  Peter,  I  was 
told,  claimed  a  right,  in  virtue  of  his  royal  descent, 
to  cut  saplings  to  supply  his  materials,  on  any  estate 
in  the  island.  He  was  permitted  to  enjoy  this  species 
of  feudal  privilege  in  quiet,  it  being  well  understood 
that  he  was  not  to  exceed  a  certain  discretion  in  its 
exercise. 

In  the  more  interior  parts  of  the  country,  I  fre 
quently  met  families  of  the  Indians,  either  travelling, 
or  proceeding  to  some  village,  with  their  wares. 
They  were  all  alike,  a  stunted,  dirty,  and  degraded 
race.  Sometimes  they  encamped  in  the  forests,  lighted 
their  fires,  and  remained  for  weeks  in  a  place ;  and 
at  others,  they  kept  roaming  daily,  until  the  time 
arrived  when  they  should  return  to  their  reservations. 

The  reservations  in  the  old  States,  and  with  tribes 
that  cannot  aspire  to  the  dignity  of  nations,  are  man 
aged  on  a  sufficiently  humane  principle.  The  laws 
of  the  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  have  jurisdic 
tion  there,  in  all  matters  between  white  men,  or  be 
tween  a  white  man  and  an  Indian ;  but  the  Indians 
themselves  are  commonly  permitted  to  control  the 
whole  of  their  own  internal  policy.  Bargains,  ex 
ceeding  certain  amounts,  are  not  valid  between  them 
and  the  whites,  who  cannot,  for  instance,  purchase 


620  TREATMENT  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

their  lands.  Schools  are  usually  provided,  in  the  more 
important  tribes,  by  the  general  government,  and  in 
the  less,  by  chanty.  Religious  instruction  is  also 
furnished  by  the  latter  means. 

I  saw  reservations  in  which  no  mean  advances  hac* 
been  made  in  civilization.  Farms  were  imperfectly 
tilled,  and  cattle  were  seen  grazing  in  the  fields. 
Still,  civilization  advances  slowly  among  a  people 
who  consider  labour  a  degradation,  in  addition  to  the 
bodily  dislike  that  all  men  have  to  its  occupations. 

There  are  many  of  these  tribes,  however,  who  fill  a 
far  more  important,  and  altogether  a  remarkable  posi 
tion.  There  is  certainly  no  portion  of  country  within 
the  admitted  boundaries  of  the  United  States,  in  which 
their  laws  are  not  paramount,  if  they  choose  to  exert 
them.  Still,  savage  communities  do  exist  within  these 
limits,  with  whom  they  make  treaties,  against  whom 
they  wrage  open  war,  and  with  whom  they  make 
solemn  peace.  As  a  treaty  is,  by  the  constitution, 
the  paramount  law  of  the  land,  the  several  States  arc 
obliged  to  respect  their  legal  provisions. 

That  neither  the  United  States,  nor  any  individual 
State,  has  ever  taken  possession  of  any  land  that,  by 
usage  or  construction,  might  be  decreed  the  property 
of  the  Indians,  without  a  treaty  and  a  purchase,  is,  I 
believe,  certain.  How  far  an  equivalent  is  given,  is 
another  question :  though  I  fancy  that  these  bargains 
are  quite  as  just  as  any  that  are  ever  driven  between 
the  weak  and  the  strong,  the  intelligent  and  the  igno 
rant.  It  is  not  pretended  that  the  value  of  the  ter 
ritory  gained  is  paid  for ;  but  the  purchase  is  rather 
a  deference  to  general  principles  of  justice  and  hu 
manity,  than  a  concession  to  a  right  in  the  Indians, 
which  itself  might  admit  of  a  thousand  legal  quib 
bles.  The  treaties  are  sufficiently  humane,  and, 
although  certain  borderers,  who  possess  the  power 
of  the  white  man  with  the  disposition  of  the  savage, 
do  sometimes  violate  their  conditions,  there  is  no  just 


INDIAN  DEPARTMENT.  621 

reason  to  distrust  the  intentions  or  the  conduct  of  the 
government.  But  you  may  desire  to  know  something 
of  the  detail  of  the  intercourse. 

You  have  seen  that  the  expenses  of  the  war  de 
partment  of  this  government,  for  the  year  1826,  was 
6,243,236  dollars.  Among  other  charges,  I  find  the 
following  items  included  in  the  gross  amount.  The 
sums  are  all  in  dollars.  Civilization  of  Indians, 
14,914;  pay  of  Indian  agents,  29,860;  sub-ditto, 
12,131;  presents  to  Indians,  16,387;  contingencies 
of  Indian  department,  130,542;  general  councils 
with  Indians  on  Lake  Superior,  270,000 ;  relief  of 
the  Florida  Indians,  7,249  ;  treaties  with  ditto,  3,218  ; 
Creek  treaties,  109,471;  Choctaw  treaty,  2,056; 
Choctaw  schools,  2,804  ;  treaties  with  Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws,  15,000;  other  Indian  treaties,  183,568; 
annuities  to  Indians,  243,542,  &c.  &c. 

The  annuities  are  sums  paid  for  grants  of  land. 
At  the  treaties,  presents  are  always  made  to  the 
tribes,  and  the  agents  and  sub-agents  are  men  em 
ployed  to  maintain  the  influence  of  the  government, 
and  at  the  same  time,  to  see  that  the  rights  of  the 
Indians  are  respected. 

There  is  a  bureau  of  the  war  department  that  is 
called  the  "  office  of  the  Indian  affairs."  A  humane 
and  discreet  individual  is  at  its  head,  and  a  good  deal 
is  endeavoured  to  be  done  in  mitigating  the  sufferings 
and  in  meliorating  the  condition  of  the  Indians, 
though,  owing  to  the  peculiar  habits  and  opinions  of 
these  people,  but  little,  I  fear,  is  effected.  I  see  by 
the  report  of  the  current  year,  (1827)  that,  in  nine 
months,  requisitions  towards  the  support  of  the  ob 
jects  of  this  bureau,  were  made  to  the  amount  of 
759,116  dollars,  or  at  the  rate  of  a  little  more  than 
a  million  of  dollars  a  year.  This,  you  will  remem 
ber,  is  one-tenth  of  the  current  expenditure  of  the 
whole  government,  and  nearly  as  much  as  is  paid  for 
the  support  of  the  whole  civil  list,  strictly  speaking. 


622  POLICY  or  THE  GOVERNMENT. 

The  manner  in  which  the  money  is  appropriated,  can 
oe  seen  in  the  extracts  already  quoted  for  the  year 
1S26. 

The  government,  it  would  appear  by  the  reports, 
puts  the  utmost  latitude  on  the  construction  of  their 
constitutional  powers,  by  even  paying  money  for  the 
support  of  missionaries  among  the  Indians.  I  believe, 
however,  that  the  alleged  and  legal  object  of  this 
charge,  is  for  general  instruction,  though  in  point  of 
fact,  the  teachers  are  missionaries.  They  are  of  ail 
sects,  Protestant  and  Catholic,  the  question  of  creed 
being  never  discussed  at  all.  I  see  by  the  reports, 
that  (in  1827)  there  were  1291  scholars  in  the  differ 
ent  schools  that  come  under  the  superintendence  of 
the  government.  It  is  not  probable  that  all  the  In 
dians  belonging  to  the  tribes  that  receive  this  instruc 
tion,  much  exceed,  if  indeed  they  reach,  the  total 
number  of  30,000.  I  think  it  is  therefore  apparent, 
that  quite  as  good  provision  for  elementary  instruc 
tion  is  made  in  behalf  of  the  Indians,  as  is  commonly 
made  for  the  people  of  any  country,  except  those  of 
the  United  States  themselves.  There  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  all  the  children  who  present  themselves, 
are  not  taught ;  and  there  is  much  reason  for  believ 
ing  that  efforts  are  constantly  making  to  induce  all 
to  come.  The  number  of  teachers  is  293,  which  is 
quite  enough  to  instruct  ten  times  the  number.  You 
are  not  to  suppose,  however,  that  all  these  teachers 
are  men  hired  expressly  for  that  purpose.  They  are 
the  missionaries,  their  wives  and  families,  and  some 
of  them  are  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  in  the  arts 
of  life,  as  well  as  in  reading  and  writing.  Much  of 
the  expense  is  defrayed  by  charitable  associations. 
The  sum  actually  paid  by  the  government  for  the 
express  object  of  instruction,  is  7,150  dollars,  or 
enough  to  maintain  rather  more  than  forty  teachers 
at  stipends  of  150  dollars  each.  It  is  probable  that 


WHITES    AND    INDIANS.  623 

some  receive  more,  and  some  less.  It  is  said  that  the 
schools  are  generally  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

Where  there  is  much  intercourse  between  the 
very  strong  and  very  weak,  there  is  always  a  ten 
dency  in  the  human  mind  to  suspect  abuses  of  power. 
I  shall  not  descend  into  the  secret  impulses  that  give 
rise  to  these  suspicions :  but  in  this  stage  of  the  world, 
there  is  no  necessity  for  suspecting  a  nation  like  this 
of  any  unprovoked  wrongs  against  a  people  like  the 
savages.  The  inroad  of  the  whites  of  the  United 
States  has  never  been  marked  by  the  gross  injustice 
and  brutality  that  have  distinguished  similar  inroads 
elsewhere.  The  Indians  have  never  been  slain  ex 
cept  in  battle,  unless  by  lawless  individuals;  never 
hunted  by  blood-hounds,  or  in  any  manner  aggriev 
ed,  except  in  the  general,  and,  perhaps,  in  some  de 
gree,  justifiable  invasion  of  a  territory  that  they  did 
not  want,  nor  could  not  use.  If  the  government  of 
the  United  States  was  poor  and  necessitous,  one 
might  suspect  it  of  an  unjust  propensity;  but  not 
only  the  facts,  but  the  premises,  would  teach  us  to 
believe  the  reverse. 

A  great,  humane,  and,  I  think,  rational  project,  is 
now  in  operation  to  bring  the  Indians  within  the  pale 
of  civilization.  I  shall  furnish  you  with  its  outline 
as  it  is  detailed  in  a  recent  report  of  the  head  of  the 
Indian  office. 

Most,  if  not  all  of  the  Indians  who  reside  east  of 
the  Mississippi,  live  within  the  jurisdiction  of  some 
State  or  of  some  territory.  In  most  cases  they  are  left 
to  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  scanty  rights  which 
they  retain ;  but  the  people  of  their  vicinity  com 
monly  wish  to  get  rid  of  neighbours  that  retard  civil 
ization,  and  who  are  so  often  troublesome.  The 
policy  of  States  is  sometimes  adverse  to  their  con 
tinuance.  Though  there  is  no  power,  except  that  of 
the  United  States,  which  can  effect  their  removal 
without  their  own  consent,  the  State  authorities  can 


624  A    PLAN    FOR    THE 

greatly  embarrass  the  control  of  the  general  govern 
ment.  A  question  of  policy,  and,  perhaps,  of  jurisdic 
tion,  lately  arose  on  this  subject  between  Georgia 
and  the  general  government.  In  the  course  of  its 
disposal,  the  United  States,  in  order  to  secure  the 
rights  of  the  Indians  more  effectually,  and  to  pre 
vent  any  future  question  of  this  sort,  appear  to  have 
hit  on  the  following  plan. 

West  of  the  Mississippi  they  still  hold  large  regions 
that  belong  to  no  State  or  territory.  They  propose 
to  several  tribes  (Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  Cherokees, 
&c.)  to  sell  their  present  possessions,  improvements, 
houses,  fences,  stock,  &c.,  and  to  receive,  in  return, 
acre  for  acre,  with  the  same  amount  of  stock,  fences, 
and  every  other  auxiliary  of  civilization  they  now 
possess.  The  inducements  to  make  this  exchange 
are  as  follow: — Perpetuity  to  their  establishments, 
since  a  pledge  is  given  that  no  title  shall  ever  be 
granted  that  may  raise  a  pretext  for  another  removal ; 
an  organization  of  a  republican,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  a 
territorial  government  for  them,  such  as  now  exist  in 
Florida,  Arkansas,  and  Michigan ;  protection,  by  the 
presence  of  troops ;  and  a  right  to  send  delegates  to 
Congress,  similar  to  that  now  enjoyed  by  the  other 
territories. 

If  the  plan  can  be  effected,  there  is  reason  to  think 
that  the  constant  diminution  in  the  numbers  of  the 
Indians  will  be  checked,  and  that  a  race,  about  whom 
there  is  so  much  that  is  poetic  and  fine  in  recollec 
tion,  will  be  preserved.  Indeed,  some  of  the  southern 
tribes  have  already  endured  the  collision  with  the 
white  man,  and  are  still  slowly  on  the  increase.  As 
one  of  these  tribes,  at  least,  (the  Chickasaws,)  is  in 
cluded  in  this  plan,  there  is  just  ground  to  hope  that 
the  dangerous  point  of  communication  has  been 
passed,  and  that  they  may  continue  to  advance  in 
civilization  to  maturity.  The  chief  of  the  bureau  on 
Indian  affairs  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  they  (the 


CIVILIZATION    OF    THE    SAVAGES  625 

Chickasaws)  have  increased  about  ten  per  cent, 
within  six  years.  Their  whole  number  is  computed 
at  four  thousand  souls. 

Should  such  a  territory  be  formed,  a  nucleus  will 
be  created,  around  which  all  the  savages  of  the  west, 
who  have  any  yearnings  for  a  more  meliorated  state 
of  existence,  can  rally.  As  there  is  little  reluctance 
to  mingle  the  white  and  red  blood,  (for  the  physical 
difference  is  far  less  than  in  the  case  of  the  blacks, 
and  the  Indians  have  never  been  menial  slaves,)  I 
think  an  amalgamation  of  the  two  races  would  in 
time  occur.  Those  families  of  America  who  are 
thought  to  have  any  of  the  Indian  blood,  are  rather 
proud  of  their  descent,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  boast 
among  many  of  the  most  considerable  persons  of 
Virginia,  that  they  are  descended  from  the  renowned 
Pocahontas. 

The  character  of  the  American  Indian  has  been 
too  often  faithfully  described  to  need  any  repetition 
here.  The  majority  of  them,  in  or  near  the  settle 
ments,  are  an  humbled  and  much  degraded  race.  As 
you  recede  from  the  Mississippi,  the  finer  traits  of 
savage  life  become  visible  ;  and,  although  most  of  the 
natives  of  the  Prairies,  even  there,  are  far  from  being 
the  interesting  and  romantic  heroes  that  poets  love 
to  paint,  there  are  specimens  of  loftiness  of  spirit,  of 
bearing,  and  of  savage  heroism,  to  be  found  among 
the  chiefs,  that  might  embarrass  the  fertility  of  the 
richest  invention  to  equal.  I  met  one  of  those  he 
roes  of  the  desert,  and  a  finer  physical  and  moral 
man,  allowing  for  peculiarity  of  condition,  it  has 
rarely  been  my  good  fortune  to  encounter. 

Peterlasharroo,  or  the  voung  knife  chief  of  the 
Pawnees,  when  I  saw  him,  was  a  man  of  some  six  or 
seven-and-twenty  years.  He  had  already  gained  re 
nown  as  a  warrior,  and  he  had  won  the  confidence 
of  his  tribe  by  repeated  exhibitions  of  wisdom  and 
moderation.  He  had  been  signally  useful  in  destroy- 
3H 


A    PAWNEE    CHIEF. 

ing  a  baneful  superstition,  which  would  have  made  a 
sacrifice  of  a  female  prisoner,  whose  life  he  saved  by 
admirable  energy,  and  a  fearless  exposure  of  his  own. 
The  reputation  of  even  this  remote  and  savage  hero 
had  spread  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  his  own 
country ;  and,  when  we  met,  I  was  prepared  to  yield 
him  esteem  and  admiration.  But  the  impression  pro 
duced  by  his  grave  and  haughty,  though  still  cour 
teous  mien,  the  restless,  but  often  steady,  and  bold 
glance  of  his  dark,  keen  eye,  and  the  quiet  dignity  of 
his  air,  are  still  present  to  my  recollection.  With  a 
view  to  propitiate  so  powerful  a  chief,  I  had  pre 
pared  a  present  of  peacock's  feathers,  which  were 
so  arranged  as  to  produce  as  much  effect  as  the  fine 
plumage  of  that  noble  bird  will  allow.  He  received 
my  offering  with  a  quiet  smile,  and  regarded  the  boon 
with  a  complacency  that  seemed  to  find  more  of  its 
motive  in  a  wish  to  be  grateful,  than  in  any  selfish 
gratification.  The  gift  was  then  laid  aside,  nor  was 
it  regarded  again,  during  the  whole  of  a  long  and  in 
teresting  interview.  You  may  judge  of  my  surprise, 
when  I  afterwards  learned  that  this  simple  child  of 
the  plains  considered  my  gift  in  some  such  light  as 
a  courtier  would  esteem  a  brilliant.  The  interpreter 
assured  me  that  I  had  made  him  able  to  purchase 
thirty  horses,  a  species  of  property  that  constitutes 
the  chief  wealth  of  his  tribe.  But,  notwithstanding 
my  unintentional  liberality,  no  sign  of  pleasure,  be 
yond  that  which  I  have  related,  was  suffered  to  es- 
caoe  him,  in  the  presence  of  a  white  man. 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 


Washington,  •    •• 

You  can  scarcely  expect  a  very  minute  descrip~ 
hon  of  what  I  have  seen  in  my  southern  tour.  Still 
I  may  put  a  few  general  facts  before  your  eyes,  in  a 
new,  and,  perhaps,  not  uninteresting  manner. 

The  eleven  slave-holding  States  of  this  confedera 
tion  contain  about  489,000  square  miles  of  territory. 
If  Arkansas  and  the  Floridas  (not  yet  States)  shall 
be  included,  they  will  swell  the  amount  to  about 
600,000,  or  something  less  than  double  the  extent  of 
the  whole  thirteen  northern,  or  free  States,  including 
Michigan,  which,  together,  cover  a  surface  of  334,000 
square  miles.  Thus,  you  see,  that  about  one-half  of 
the  whole  computed  territory  of  the  United  States 
is  so  far  settled,  as  to  have  arrived  at  the  point  of 
establishing  the  State  or  territorial  governments.  But 
there  is  no  probability  that  any  other  community  will 
be  speedily  formed,  on  this  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
of  sufficient  importance  to  aspire  to  the  possession  of  a 
separate  government.  The  Prairies,  and  the  deserts 
of  the  west,  present  natural  obstacles  to  the  further 
progress  of  the  population  in  that  quarter ;  and  cli 
mate  opposes  a  serious  reason  to  the  comfortable  ex 
istence  of  man  towards  the  north-west.  That  all 
these  regions  will,  in  time,  come  to  have  a  popula 
tion  of  their  own,  is  certain  ;  but,  in  a  country  where 
there  is  still  so  much  room  for  the  employment  of 
men,  that  day  is  necessarily  distant. 

I  have  estimated  the  whole  white  population,  who 
are  now  in  possession  of  these  G00,000  square  miles, 
at  3,500,000,  and  the  blacks  at  less  than  1 ,900,000, 


628  RATE  OF  POPULATION  TO  THE  SQUARE  MILE. 

of  which  number,  as  you  know,  I  think  something 
like  1 ,750,000  may  be  slaves.  The  free  blacks  in  the 
free  States,  in  1820,  amounted  to  112,281;  10  or 
12,000  have  been  manumitted  since,  by  the  opera 
tion  of  the  laws.  The  estimate  of  the  whole  num 
ber  of  blacks  in  the  United  States,  must  materially 
exceed  2,000,000,  or  I  have  given  quite  enough  to 
the  southern  States.  Supposing  these  estimates  to 
be  near  the  truth,  (it  is  impossible  that  they  should 
be  exact,)  the  whole  of  the  600,000  square  miles  are 
occupied  by  5,400,000  souls,  exclusive  of  Indians ; 
or  at  the  rate  of  nine  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile. 
But  the  remark  which  I  have  made  concerning  the 
districts  of  country,  entirely  uninhabited,  to  the  north, 
is  also  applicable  to  similar  regions  to  the  south. 
There  are  also  fewer  villages  to  the  south  than  to 
the  north.  The  same  is  true  with  respect  to  towns 
of  all  sizes.  Baltimore,  the  largest  city  in  the  slave- 
holding  States,  contains,  perhaps,  about  half  as  many 
inhabitants  as  Philadelphia ;  and  New-Orleans,  and 
Charleston,  and  Richmond,  the  only  other  three 
towns  of  any  magnitude,  are  not,  all  together,  as 
large  as  Boston.  After  the  places  just  named,  there 
is  no  town  that  reaches  10,000  inhabitants,  and  few 
that  come  up  to  half  that  number.  There  are,  how 
ever,  one  or  two  new  thriving  places  on  the  bays  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  where  cities  will  probably  be 
formed,  though,  I  think,  there  is  scarcely  a  town  now 
in  existence,  except  Baltimore,  New-Orleans,  Charles 
ton,  and  Richmond,  in  the  whole  of  this  immense 
region,  that  contains  10,000  souls. 

In  forming  an  idea  of  the  appearance  of  a  country 
thus  inhabited,  in  addition  to  the  general  fact  of  dis 
tricts  that  are  entirely  untenanted,  you  are  to  call 
into  view  the  peculiar  division  of  property  which 
occurs  on  nearly  all  the  coast.  Extensive  plantations, 
on  which  none  but  the  best  land  is  worked,  make 
fearful  interruptions  in  the  agricultural  character  o/' 


UPLANDS.  629 

the  country :  and  the  vast  pine  barrens  that  occur 
along  the  Atlantic,  and  even  on  the  Gulf,  leave  wide 
spaces  of  unoccupied  ground,  even  in  the  longest  set 
tled  parts  of  these  States. 

But  there  are  States,  or  parts  of  States,  that  present 
a  very  different  picture.  Some  of  the  counties  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia  are  in  a  high  degree  beautiful ; 
and  the  uplands  of  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  are  of 
an  entirely  different  character  from  the  coasts.  Ten 
nessee  has  not  only  a  fine  climate  and  a  fertile  soil, 
but  a  population  that,  in  common,  might  vie  with  the 
population  of  any  country  for  all  the  best  attributes 
of  man. 

You  will  see  that  the  great  physical  force  of  this 
nation,  however,  lies  in  the  more  northern  States. 
If  we  except  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  the  uplands 
generally,  I  think  chis  must  long  continue  to  be  the 
fact.  The  arts  of  life  are  more  cultivated  there  than 
to  the  south ;  and  as  they  get  still  more  into  use,  men 
will  cling  to  their  indulgence  with  all  the  tenacity  of 
acquired  habits.  Emigration  to  the  south-western 
States  has  been  chiefly  fed  by  Virginia,  Georgia,  and 
the  two  Carolinas.  These  four  States  contained,  in 
1 790,  1 ,463,982,  and  in  1 820,  2,535,493.  Emigration 
to  the  new  northern  States  has  been  chiefly  fed  by 
New-England.  In  1 790,  New-England  had  1 ,009,522 
souls;  and  in  1820,  1,659,864.  Here  you  see  that 
the  rate  of  increase  is  rather  in  favour  of  the  latter ; 
but  if  we  look  into  the  increase  of  the  States  that 
have  been  fed  by  this  emigration,  it  will  be  found  to 
be  still  more  in  favour  of  the  northern  portion  of  the 
country.  In  1790,  all  the  free  States  had  2,033,248 
inhabitants,  and  in  1820,  5,225,117.  In  1790,  all  the 
slave-holding  States  contained  1,890,080  souls;  and 
in  1 820,  4,400,6 1 7.  Here  you  see  that,  notwithstand 
ing  the  vast  superiority  of  the  southern  States  over 
the  northern  in  extent,  the  increase  of  population 
in  the  latter  is  in  a  ratio  considerably  in  their  favour. 
3H2 


G30      RATE  OP  INCREASE  OF  POPULATION. 

In  1790,  the  slave-holding  States  had  137,168  fewer 
inhabitants  than  their  northern  sisters ;  whereas,  in 
1820,  the  northern  States  had  824,500  the  most. 
After  allowing  for  the  difference  of  capital,  the  excess 
is  nearly  400,000  too  many  for  the  regular  proportion 
of  the  increase.  It  is  also  known  that  many  adven 
turers  go  from  the  northern  States  into  the  southern, 
while  comparatively  few  southern  men  come  north, 
though  it  is  certainly  done.  If  we  take  6,500,000  as 
the  present  population  of  the  northern  States,  (and 
I  believe  it  is  within  bounds,)  there  will  remain 
5,500,000  for  the  southern.  This  will  show  again 
that  the  southern  States  are  beginning  to  maintain 
their  own ;  but  their  present  growth  is  more  owing 
to  the  vast  regions  of  fertile  land  that  have  lately  been 
opened  for  sale  at  the  south,  than  to  natural  increase, 
since  every  man  who  emigrates  counts  two  in  the 
amouiic  of  comparative  numbers. 

Th'^  inducements  that  carry  the  northern  man  far 
south,  *nust  be  exceedingly  strong  to  overcome  the 
effect?  of  climate,  and  the  repugnance  he  is  apt  to 
feel  to  slavery.  Still  these  inducements  do  exist,  and 
in  some  parts  of  the  country  the  climate  itself  is  among 
the  reasons  for  emigration.  It  is  the  coast,  chiefly, 
which  is  unhealthy;  and  even  on  the  coast,  there  are 
found  many  delightful  and  salubrious  situations,  where 
northern  men  gladly  resort  for  the  purposes  of  trade. 
It  is  quite  natural  that  the  northern  population,  having 
occupied  most  of  their  own  best  lands,  should  begin 
to  find  their  way  into  the  southern,  and  particularly 
into  the  south-western  States. 

There  is  a  considerable  difference  of  character 
between  the  people  of  the  northern,  and  between 
some  of  the  people  of  the  southern  States  of  this 
Union.  I  do  not  allude  to  the  distinctive  traits  which 
form  the  habits  of  a  border  man,  and  a  man  of  the 
towns ;  for  these  exist  between  the  frontier  inhabitant 
of  New- York  and  the  inhabitant  of  the  ci<y  of  that 


GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  SOUTH.  631 

name,  But  slavery  itself,  and  the  dispersed  establish 
ments  of  the  whites,  which  are  a  consequence  of 
slavery,  have  a  direct  effect  on  the  manners  of  the 
southern  inhabitants. 

The  owner  of  slaves,  whatever  may  be  his  correla 
tive  standing  with  men  of  his  own  colour,  is  a  species 
of  aristocrat,  so  far  as  manners  are  concerned.  He 
is  kept,  in  his  own  person,  from  the  pursuits  and  em 
ployments  that  are  commonly  thought  to  degrade 
men,  and  of  course  he  acquires  the  opinions  of  a  su 
perior  caste.  Where  opportunity  of  sufficient  asso 
ciation  is  allowed,  he  gets  the  habits,  also,  of  this 
caste.  I  am  of  opinion,  that  in  proportion  to  the 
[population,  there  are  more  men  who  belong  to  what 
Is  termed  the  class  of  gentlemen,  in  the  old  southern 
States  of  America  than  in  any  other  country  of  the 
world.  So  far  as  pride  in  themselves,  a  courteous 
air,  and  a  general  intelligence,  are  concerned,  they 
are,  perhaps,  quite  on  a  level  with  the  gentry  of  any 
other  country,  though  their  intelligence  must  neces 
sarily  be  chiefly  of  that  sort  which  is  obtained  by  the 
use  of  books,  rather  than  of  extensive  familiarity  writh 
the  world.  In  respect  to  conventional  manners,  they 
are  not  so  generally  finished  as  the  upper  classes  of 
other  countries,  or  even  of  some  classes  in  their  own ; 
though  I  do  not  know  where  to  find  gentlemen  of 
better  air  or  better  breeding  throughout,  than  most 
of  those  I  have  met  in  the  southern  Atlantic  States. 

The  American  who  has  had  the  advantage  of  early 
association  with  men  of  breeding,  and  who  possesses 
the  advantages  of  fortune  and  education,  occupies  a 
station  in  society  that  the  gentleman,  or  nobleman,  of 
DO  country  of  different  political  institutions  can  ever 
fill.  He  sees.,  and  knows  that  he  exists  without  a  su 
perior.  He  has  wealth,  and  manner,  and  education, 
and  beyond  this,  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  country 
men  can  go.  No  man  can,  in  truth,  go  beyond  them 
any  where ;  though  artificial  distinctions  may  have  the 


632  SOUTHERN    GENTLEMEN. 

effect  to  reduce  men  below  the  consideration  that 
these  advantages  should  produce.  So  long  as  society 
shall  be  governed  by  its  ordinary  and  natural  feelings, 
it  is  not  possible  to  deprive  money,  intelligence,  and 
manners,  of  their  influence  ;  but  it  is  quite  possible  to 
give  an  artificial  importance  to  other  causes  of  distinc 
tion,  to  which  society  must  bend  by  its  own  ordi 
nances.  It  is  true,  that  in  some  countries,  actual 
power  is  connected  with  nominal  rank  ;  but  it  is  just 
as  true,  that  actual  power  is  to  be  attained  in  America, 
though  by  different  means.  Thus,  the  English  gentle 
man  may  become  a  peer,  and  the  American  gentle 
man  may  become  a  Senator ;  and,  although  the  former 
is  certain  of  transmitting  his  rank  to  his  posterity,  still 
it  is  a  rank  which,  while  it  has  many  inferiors,  has 
some  superiors.  The  American  who  sees  himself  in 
possession  of  the  three  great  requisites  of  an  elevated 
condition,  meets  the  President  as  an  equal,  who  is  in 
trusted  for  a  time,  with  honourable  powers,  but  who 
merely  fills  a  station  that  he  himself  may  one  day 
occupy, 

It  is  the  fashion  of  Europe  to  talk  a  great  deal 
of  the  levelling  institutions  of  the  United  States* 
I  have  elsewhere  said,  that  elevating  would  be  a  bet 
ter  word.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  institutions 
that  admit  of  the  strongest  temptations  for  every  man 
to  aspire,  can  have  the  effect  of  placing  a  nation  be 
low  the  level  of  other  communities.  All  rational 
theory,  and  what  is  of  far  more  importance,  the  facts, 
prove  exactly  the  reverse.  I  would  defy  any  nation 
on  earth  to  produce  as  many  men  (and  women  too)  as 
the  United  States,  allowing  for  their  opportunities  and 
their  numbers,  who  have  reached  a  creditable  moraj 
elevation  of  character.  I  include  manners,  no  less 
than  principles,  intelligence,  and  other  requisites. 
That  this  class  will  increase,  both  in  quality  and 
quantity,  as  the  population  becomes  more  dense,  is, 


THE    FUTURE.  633 

I  think,  unavoidable  ;  and  then  we  shall  have  a  new 
face  put  upon  certain  ancient  theories. 

Let  us  suppose  these  States  inhabited  by  one  hun 
dred  millions  of  people.  It  is,  for  our  present  purpose, 
a  matter  of  indifference  whether  they  shall  live  under 
one  government,  or  under  twenty.  Their  men  of 
fortune,  breeding,  and  education,  have  reached  the 
acme  of  human  elevation,  (of  course  no  allusion  is  in 
tended  to  religion,)  for  a  patent  of  nobility  does  no 
thing  towards  raising  the  qualifications  of  its  possessor, 
however  it  may  serve  to  depress  his  inferiors.  We 
will  suppose  some  four  or  five  millions  of  these  men 
acknowledging,  and  actually  possessing  no  earthly 
superior,  in  full  communion  with  the  rest  of  the  world. 
What  do  you  think  will  be  their  effect  on  the  condi 
tion  of  society  ?  They  will  claim  to  be  equal  to  ranks 
that  are  admitted  to  be  superior  to  the  immense  ma 
jorities  of  other  nations.  Nor  do  I  see  how  their  claim 
is  well  to  be  denied.  They  will  be  quite  equal  in 
manners,  in  wealth,  in  general  elevation  of  character, 
(even  admitting  that  they  shall  be  subdivided  again 
and  again  as  States  in  political  power,)  and  they  will 
insist  on  being  equal,  in  society,  to  the  highest  ranks 
of  other  countries.  Now,  my  clear  Somersetshire 
baronet,  what  are  we  to  do  in  order  to  maintain  our 
present  unquestionable  superiority  over  these  gentry, 
who  are  contriving  to  get  above  us  by  their  levelling 
institutions.  We  cannot  pistol  them  down,  for,  unhap 
pily,  a  democrat  can  shoot  as  well  as  an  aristocrat, 
and  in  point  of  numbers,  they  will  be  ten  to  one  ;  we 
cannot  laugh  them  down,  for  the  joke  will  be  on  their 
side ;  we  cannot  look  them  down,  for  they  will  have 
a  full  share  of  the  substantials,  and  by  present  symp 
toms,  I  think  they  will  have  more ;  nor  can  we  send 
them  to  Coventry,  for,  independently  of  getting  so 
many  motley  nations  as  Europe  contains,  to  be  ex 
actly  of  one  mind,  they  will  care  less  about  the 
association  than  we. 


634  EXAGGERATION. 


o  been  led  into  this  train  of  reflections,  by 
studying  the  character  of  the  better  classes  of  these 
people,  more  especially  as  I  have  found  them  in  the 
southern  States.  Their  conventional  manners  vary, 
of  course,  according  to  circumstances  ;  but  that  high 
and  manly  principle  of  fearless  independence,  which 
is  almost  peculiar  to  this  country,  forms  a  conspicuous 
feature  in  their  characters.  I  very  well  know,  that 
where  manners  are  wanting,  this  bold  quality  may 
make  men  exacting  and  coarse  ;  but  where  manners 
do  prevail,  and,  considering  the  circumstances,  they 
prevail  here  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  it  makes  men 
truly  noble. 

Slavery  is  not  favourable  to  the  milder  qualities  in 
the  master.  It  may  polish,  but  it  never  subdues  his 
manner.  But  he  who  governs  many  human  beings, 
without  having  much  intercourse  with  his  equals,  is 
apt  to  acquire  habits  of  impatience  and  self-will. 
That,  these  qualities  exist  in  a  much  greater  degree 
in  the  southern  than  in  the  northern  States  of  Amer 
ica,  is,  I  believe,  undeniable  ;  though  I  do  not  think 
they  exist  to  the  degree  that  the  theory  would  lead 
us  to  suppose. 

The  accounts  of  the  violence  and  vindictive  tem 
pers  of  the  people  of  the  southern  States  of  America 
are,  I  am  quite  satisfied,  grossly  exaggerated,  not  only 
in  Europe,  but  in  America  itself.  It  is  commonly 
sufficient  that  rare  exceptions  of  any  thing  extraordi 
nary  should  occur,  any  where,  to  give  circulation  to 
reports  that  such  things  are  distinctive  of  national 
character.  I  recollect  to  have  seen  a  caricature,  in 
the  Palais  Royal,  of  an  Englishman  leading  his  wife 
to  be  sold  with  a  halter  round  her  neck  ;  and  I  make 
no  doubt,  that  to  thousands  of  the  spectators  it  con 
veyed  an  idea  of  a  common  national  usage,  if  not  of 
a  law.  When  I  descended  the  Ohio  and  the  Missis 
sippi,  it  was  not  done  without  some  terror  for  my 
eyes  ;  but  I  cannot  say  that  I  saw  any  body  gouged 


DUELS.  635 

during  the  whole  journey.  Sundry  marvellous  tales 
were  told  me;  but,  like  all  other  marvellous  exploits, 
they  would  riot  endure  examination.  Such  things 
must  have  occurred,  or  the  rumour  would  not  have 
been  raised ;  but,  if  it  were  ever  common,  the  prac 
tice  is  certainly  getting  into  disuse.  That  rude  and 
violent  men  should  have  navigated  these  endless 
rivers  when  their  banks  were  nearly  untenanted,  is 
quite  probable ;  but  the  manners  of  the  boatmen  now 
are  about  as  good  as  those  of  boatmen  in  Europe ;  in 
many  things,  they  are  much  better. 

I  have  elsewhere  alluded  to  the  duels  of  America, 
and  as  they  may  properly  be  introduced  here,  we 
will  endeavour  to  discuss  the  subject.  Personal  com 
bats  are,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  relks  of  an  age  when 
man  had  the  desires  of  high  civilization,  without  any 
other. means  of  attaining  them  than  by  appeals  to 
force.  The  principle  on  which  they  are  grounded, 
says,  that  a  man  is  willing  to  prove  that  he  cares  less 
for  his  life  than  he  does  for  his  reputation,  I  fear, 
too,  that  more  or  less  of  a  desire  to  punish  aggression, 
or  of  personal  feelings,  are  mingled  with  the  senti 
ment  ;  but  as  it  is  a  chivalrous  subject,  we  will  give 
it  its  most  chivalrous  construction.  In  the  eastern 
States  of  America,  in  New- York,  (the  city  of  that 
name  excepted,)  and  in  parts  of  Ohio  and  Pennsyl 
vania,  duels  are  less  frequent  than,  perhaps,  in  any 
other  civilized  country,  especially  in  a  country  where 
men  have  as  high  a  respect  for  themselves  as  they 
have  in  this.  My  friend,  who  has  known  the  more 
western  counties  of  New- York  intimately  for  thirty 
years,  assures  me  that  he  does  not  recollect  but  one 
duel  in  all  that  time,  and  that  was  fought  full  five- 
and-twenty  years  ago.  He  does  not  pretend  that  this 
combat  stands  alone ;  bnt  he  thinks  that  he  should 
have  heard  of  them  had  there  been  many  more.  He 
also  excepts  those  meetings  which  took  place  be 
tween  officers  while  the  troops  and  seamen  were 


(536  DUELS. 

serving  within  the  districts  named.  A  duel  in  New- 
England  is  exceedingly  rare.  He  accounts  for  this 
fact  on  his  favourite  principle  of  common  sense.  Re 
ligious  education  may  do  a  great  deal,  but  then  com 
mon  sense  has  something  to  do  with  religion.  There 
are  many  instances  in  which  English  clergymen  have 
been  engaged  in  duels  :  and  I  fancy  that  it  is  not  an 
uncommon  circumstance  for  men  who  are  in  full  com 
munion  with  their  respective  churches,  in  Europe, 
to  meet  in  private  combats.  Snch  a  thing  could 
scarcely  occur  in  the  United  States,  the  reason  of  the 
people  being  much  too  exacting  to  allow  of  so  broad 
a  contradiction  between  profession  and  practice.  Cad- 
wallader  thinks,  and  my  own  observation  confirms 
his  opinion,  there  is  a  greater  proportion  of  men  (in 
high  situations  of  life  too)  in  the  United  States,  who 
dare,  and  who  would,  refuse,  and  who  have  refused  to 
fight  duels,  on  the  ground  of  the  absurdity  of  the 
practice,  than  in  any  other  nation  he  has  visited.  I 
must  say  that  this  is  the  only  people  among  whom  I 
have  found  gentleman-like  men  who  have  openly 
laughed  at  the  gross  folly  of  the  usage,  and  who,  it 
was  understood,  considered  themselves  as  too  rational 
to  be  guilty  of  so  great  an  act  of  folly.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  common  sense  has  done  all  it  can  do 
with  these  individuals. 

Next  to  this  class,  which  is  very  numerous  in  the 
portions  of  country  named,  come  those  who  live 
in  the  great  towns,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  middle 
States.  Duelling  is  about  as  common  in  this  portion 
of  the  country,  as  it  is  in  France  or  in  England. 
Perhaps  the  older  parts  of  Virginia  and  the  two 
Carolinas  may  be  included  in  this  division  ;  though, 
as  it  is  thought,  and  I  believe  justly,  that  men  in 
warm  climates  have  quicker  and  more  sensitive  pas 
sions  than  men  in  colder,  it  is  possible  they  may  be 
rather  more  frequent. 

The  whole  of  the  remainder  of  the  Union  may  be 


DUELS.  637 

included,  with  certain  exceptions,  in  another  division, 
in  which  duels  are  probably,  considering  the  amount 
of  the  white  population,  as  at  least  four  to  one,  com 
pared  with  Europe,  or  even  in  a  higher  rate  of  dis 
proportion. 

It  is  necessary,  however,  to  bear  in  mind  one  cir 
cumstance  which  has  had  a  great  influence  in  ob 
taining  a  character  for  the  Americans,  not  only  as 
duellists,  but  as  a  semi-barbarous  people,  in  Europe. 
Nothing  occurs  the  least  out  of  the  ordinary  course 
of  events,  and  in  which  the  law  is  offended,  that  does 
not  go  the  rounds  of  their  thousand  journals.  It  is 
also  fair  to  suppose  that  the  ingenuity  of  an  editor 
on  a  remote  frontier  is  often  at  a  loss  to  give  interest 
to  his  sheet,  and  that  when  an  opportunity  does  occur, 
he  suffers  none  of  the  more  interesting,  which  is  al 
ways  the  exciting,  portion  of  the  incidents  to  be  kept 
in  shadow. 

A  century  ago,  men  met  in  detachments  of  five  and 
six  on  a  side,  to  settle  some  trifling  point  of  honour 
between  two.  After  this,  it  was  thought  that  every 
man  might  purge  himself  of  disgrace  in  his  own  per 
son.  Swords  were  used,  until  common  sense  began 
to  teach  men  that  it  was  folly  to  pre-suppose  the 
same  degree  of  strength  and  personal  activity  and 
skill  in  any  two  men.  Then  came  pistols.  For  a 
long  time  (the  practice  still  exists  in  some  places) 
the  injured  party  was  to  call  out  the  offender,  and  to 
stand  up  and  be  shot  at,  before  he  could  with  pro 
priety  get  a  chance  to  redress  his  wrongs.  This  prac 
tice  can  surely  only  be  accounted  for  by  supposing 
that  the  object  of  the  challenger  was  to  purge  him 
self  of  disgrace  by  risking  his  life. 

As  I  understand  the  matter,  the  rough,  steady,  un» 
accommodating  fashion,  which  the  Americans  have 
of  viewing  things,  had  long  induced  them  to  chafe 
under  these  equivocal  practices.  Common  sense  did 
its  work  thoroughly  on  a  great  proportion  of  the  na- 
31 


638  DUELS. 

tion,  who  said  plainly,  we  shall  not  do  so  ridiculous 
a  thing  as  to  let  a  man  shoot  at  us  because  he  has 
done  us  a  wrong ;  and  as  for  revenge,  we  think  it 
nobler  to  forgive.  But  common  sense  did  not  go  so 
far  with,  perhaps,  a.  moderate  majority.  They  con 
tinued  to  fight  in  the  European  fashion.  About  five- 
and-twenty  years  ago,  there  was  a  great  intellectual 
crisis  in  this  nation.  They  began  to  cut  up  certain 
antiquated  opinions,  freely,  and  to  talk  with  more 
boldness  than  before,  of  all  things  connected  with 
government,  morals,  and  customs.  When  two  men 
went  into  the  field  and  both  returned  unharmed,  the 
non-combatants  were  apt  to  ask,  with  a  sneer,  for 
what  did  you  go  there  ?  This  sort  of  language,  which 
was  used  openly,  and  with  something  of  the  air  of 
contempt,  compelled  the  combatants  to  give  some 
proof  that  they  had  been  in  a  little  jeopardy,  and,  in 
short,  it  set  common  sense  at  work  on  their  side  of 
the  question.  They  wrere  not  sufficiently  under  its 
influence  to  join  the  non-combatants,  but  they  had 
too  much  directness  of  thought  not  to  make  the  prac 
tice  consistent  with  itself.  When  they  looked  at  their 
pistols,  which  were  fixed  with  hair-triggers,  and 
which  bore  a  most  bloody  aspect,  and  which,  by  the 
bye,  underwent  all  these  preparations  in  Europe, 
whence  they  were  imported,  they  were  induced  to 
inquire  into  the  object  of  so  much  arrangement.  The 
result  was,  that  in  addition  to  the  absurdity  of  fight 
ing  at  all,  they  had  incurred  the  absurdity  of  fighting 
with  so  little  danger,  as  to  make  the  practice  doubly 
ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  determined  to 
look  at  the  naked  truth.  So  they  began  to  take  aim, 
and  to  practise,  and  to  get  skill,  until  they  reached 
the  present  honourable  standard. 

This  system  of  stripping  a  thing,  that  is  foolish  in 
itself,  of  all  its  inconsistent  folly,  has  brought  the 
custom  under  a  certain  set  of  rules.  The  true  object 
of  every  duel  is,  or  it  ought  to  be,  to  exhibit  courage. 


DUELS  639 

A  shall  not  injure  B  without  incurring  a  certain  risk; 
and  he  shall,  at  least,  be  driven  to  prove  that  he  has 
spirit  to  meet  that  risk.  It  is  true,  that  the  world 
admits  a  degree  of  vengeance  into  the  custom,  since 
it  says,  that  certain  offences  require  two  shots,  and 
certain  others  may  be  expiated  by  one.  But  I  think, 
on  the  whole,  that  even  this  extraordinary  bloody- 
mindedness  takes  the  aspect  of  an  additional  purga 
tion  to  the  man  who  has  received  the  wrong.  That 
courage  which  is  willing  to  endure  the  pain  of  a 
wound,  but  which  shrinks  from  the  danger  of  death, 
say  the  American  duellists,  (in  their  practice)  is,  like' 
the  courage  of  a  boxer,  of  a  very  inferior  quality. 
They,  therefore,  deal  in  that  which  is  thought  to  be 
superior. 

It  is  quite  plain  that  fighting  is  a  serious  thing,  and 
serious  things  become  a  little  absurd,  unless  done  in 
a  serious  manner.  But  it  is  plain,  that  there  must  be 
a  medium  in  the  serious  character  of  a  duel,  or  men 
might  put  the  pistols  into  each  other's  mouths  at  once, 
and  then  absurdity  on  the  other  side,  would  be  gain 
ed,  and  a  practice,  that  is  sufficiently  foolish  in  itself, 
is  obliged  to  get  as  near  the  true  medium  as  possible, 
or  it  could  not  exist  in  a  common  sense  nation.  This 
little  prelude  brings  us  to  the  field  of  battle. 

The  American  brings  on  the  ground,  just  as  much 
skill  with  the  weapon  he  is  to  use,  as  he  can ;  which, 
you  will  see,  is  just  what  the  swordsman  did,  or  the 
great  masters  of  the  art,  the  ancient  chivalry  of 
Europe.  When  confronted  to  his  antagonist,  he  finds 
himself  thrown  on  the  severest  possible  trial  of  his 
steadiness  and  nerves,  or  on  the  very  quality  whose 
prepossession  he  came  thus  to  prove.  He  knows 
that  his  life  is  the  penalty  of  a  blunder,  just  as  a  false 
guard  would  have  been  fatal  with  the  other  weapon. 
The  result  is,  certainly,  that,  perhaps,  in  every  two  or 
three  duels,  one  man  falls,  and,  in  almost  all,  some 
body  is  hurt.  The  usual  forms  are  much  as  they  are 


640  DUELS. 

in  Europe.  As,  however,  skill  is  deemed  not  only 
fair,  but  necessary,  when  there  is  reason  to  suspect 
that  either  party  is  inferior  to  the  other  in  the  use  of 
the  weapon,  his  second  takes  care  to  propose  some 
alteration  in  the  distance,  which  destroys  skill,  and 
throws  the  combatants  more  completely  on  their 
nerves.  In  some  few  instances,  rifles  and  muskets 
have  been  used,  to  produce  this  equality,  especially 
among  border  men,  who  have  been  most  used  to 
these  weapons.  This,  is,  clearly,  no  more  than  an 
other  change  like  that  from  the  lance  and  the  casque 
to  the  small-sword,  and  from  the  small-sword  to  the 
pistol.  And  still,  so  completely  do  we  get  to  be  the 
slaves  of  custom,  that  we  shudder  at  hearing  of  a 
duel  with  a  rifle,  while  we  think  nothing  of  a  duel 
with  a  pistol !  Surely  the  change  from  the  small 
sword  to  the  pistol,  was  greater  than  the  change  from 
the  pistol  to  the  .rifle.  For  my  own  part,  I  wish  they 
would  introduce  artillery ;  for  I  feel  perfectly  con 
vinced,  that  so  long  as  men  can  maintain  a  reputation 
for  spirit,  at  a  rate  so  cheap  as  one  life  in  ten  or 
twelve  duels,  the  barbarous  custom  will  continue.  It 
will  go  out  of  use  in  something  like  an  explosion  of  a 
magazine.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  friends  of  humanity 
had  not  hit  on  some  less  suspicious  plan  of  furthering 
their  views,  than  one  so  very  equivocal  as  that  which 
teaches  us  to  believe,  that  this  sort  of  honour  can  be 
maintained  at  the  least  possible  danger. 

With  respect  to  the  causes  of  the  frequency  of  the 
American  duels,  a  great  deal  can  be  said.  The  mili 
tary  and  naval  men  have  fought  more  duels  than  they 
would  otherwise  have  done,  on  account  of  their  long 
peace.  Swords  get  impatient  of  quiet,  and  courage 
is  a  quality  so  vital  to  a  soldier,  that  he  is  often  un 
easy  until  he  has  had  an  opportunity  of  proving  its 
existence.  They  are  said  to  be  much  less  frequent 
now  than  formerly ;  especially,  when  the  increased 
number  of  the  officers  is  remembered. 


DUELS.  641 

Duels  of  mere  manners  are,  if  any  thing,  (out  of 
the  two  services,)  less  common  here  than  in  Europe. 
The  Doctors'  Commons  heals  no  breaches  in  the 
United  States.  The  offence  is  rare,  but  the  pistol  is 
always  the  proctor.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
political  institutions  of  the  nation,  by  bringing  men 
of  different  breeding  and  education,  more  in  contact 
than  they  are  found  in  other  countries,  give  rise  to 
many  duels. 

The  frequent  recurrence  of  the  elections,  while 
they  render  the  polls  more  quiet  than  they  would  be 
under  any  other  system,  produce  a  greater  propor 
tion  of  grave  political  quarrels  than  elections  do,  for 
instance,  in  England.  Then  the  dispersed,  secluded 
situation  of  the  planters,  in  the  southern  States,  has 
a  tendency  to  foster  morbid  sensibility,  while  their 
habits  bring  them,  frequently,  into  a  species  of  irri 
tating  association. 

The  laws  of  England,  and  of  most  of  the  States 
of  this  country,  are  the  same  on  the  subject  of  duels. 
To  kill  a  man  in  any  violent  rencontre,  which  can 
be  readily  avoided,  is,  by  the  common  law,  murder. 
Nor  is  it  a  legal  plea,  that  mere  honour  was  a  suffi 
ciently  compulsory  motive.  Now,  the  same  common 
sense  and  directness  of  thought,  which,  in  some  cases, 
makes  the  American  refuse  to  fight  at  all,  and  induces 
him,  in  others,  to  fight  in  a  reasonably  dangerous 
manner,  produces  another  difference  in  the  practices 
of  the  mother  and  child,  on  this  subject.  In  Eng 
land,  when  a  man  is  killed  in  a  duel,  the  survivor  is 
tried,  and  all  things  being  found  fair,  he  is  acquitted 
according  to  opinion,  and  not  according  to  law; 
whereas,  in  America,  the  direct  and  unaccommodating 
way  these  people  have  of  considering  matters,  pre 
cludes  such  a  result.  The.  law  is  the  same  as  in 
England,  but  their  construction  on  it  would  be  dif 
ferent.  A  man,  who  had  killed  another  in  a  duel, 
would,  most  probably,  be  sentenced  to  be  hanged 
312 


642  HOSPITALITY. 

and  the  conventional  opinion  of  society  is,  therefore, 
exhibited  in  not  trying  him  at  all.  There  is  an  occa 
sional  struggle  between  the  combatants  and  the  non- 
combatants  to  bring  some  particular  case  before  a 
jury;  but  the  former  are  always  too  wise  to  incur 
the  risk;  they  therefore  get  out  of  the  way.  You 
may  see,  in  this  very  fact,  a  striking  difference  in  the 
manner  in  which  thought  is  exercised  in  the  two 
nations. 

The  people  of  this  country  have  fought  many  duels 
with  the  English,  while  they  scarcely  ever  fight  with 
any  other  foreigners.  This  was,  perhaps,  for  many 
reasons,  to  be  expected.  Their  wars  were  irritating ; 
their  policy  has  often  been  conflicting ;  and  the  citi 
zen  of  the  young  nation  may  have  often  been  too 
sensitive,  and  the  subject  of  the  old  nation  may  some 
times  have  been  too  exacting.  I  know  no  more  of 
the  matter  than  that  the  people  of  both  nations  think 
that  their  own  countrymen  have  been  right  in  these 
quarrels,  and  the  foreigners  wrong;  which  is  only 
another  proof  that  there  is  no  great  reason  in  any 
thing  that  appertains  to  the  practice. 

No  hospitality,  kindness,  or  courtesy,  can  exceed 
that  of  most  of  the  planters  of  the  southern  States  of 
this  confederation.  It  was  a  practice,  long  in  use, 
for  a  stranger  to  drive  up  to  the  door  of  a  dwelling, 
of  any  pretension,  and  to  ask  food  and  lodging  for  the 
night.  The  custom  is  not  entirely  neglected,  even 
now,  though  increased  travelling,  and  the  greater  fre 
quency  of  inns,  have  conspired  to  put  a  stop  to  it. 
This  freedom  of  intercourse  is,  clearly,  no  more  than 
a  natural  consequence  of  simplicity  of  manners,  and 
of  absence  of  suspicion.  It  is  even  practised  in  the 
northern  States.  I  remember  to  have  seen  a  country- 
house,  which  had  the  air  of  the  residence  of  a  man 
of  fortune,  while  travelling  in  the  interior  of  New- 
York.  Cadwallader  demanded  its  owner's  name  of 
a  man  by  the  road  side.  "  It  is  near  dinner-time," 


HOSPITALITY.  643 

he  then  coolly  said,  "  and  we  shall  not  fare  well  in 

these  woods  at  the  inn ;  let  us  try  Mr. 's 

table."  "  Do  you  know  him,  then?"  "  Not  at  all; 
I  know  his  family,  and  he  must  know  mine."  Of 
course  I  was  anxious  to  see  the  result  of  such  an  in 
terview.  A  servant  was  asked  if  Mr. was 

at  his  residence?  The  answer  was  favourable.  We 
were  ushered  into  a  genteel  saloon,  where  we  found 
a  very  gentleman-like  man,  a  well-bred  woman,  and 
two  or  three  charming  daughters.  "  I  am  Mr.  John 

Cadwallader,  of  Cadwallader,  in  county,'' 

said  my  friend,  "  and  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  pay 
my  respects  to  you  in  passing."  Our  host  held  out 
both  hands,  and  expressed  his  satisfaction  at  the  com- 
pliment ;  I  was  then  introduced,  and  we  found  the 
dinner  so  abundant,  and  the  wines  so  delicious  (to 
say  nothing  of  the  young  ladies)  that  we  were  in 
duced  to  stay  till  next  day  for  a  second  trial.  In  fifty 
other  instances,  have  gentlemen  who  had  heard  of 
our  presence  in  their  neighbourhoods,  ridden  miles 
to  meet  us,  and  to  invite  us  to  their  dwellings  ;  and 
I  do  firmly  believe,  that  through  Virginia  and  the 
Carolinas,  and  in  several  other  States,  we  might  have 
travelled  without  spending  a  sixpence,  or  eating, 
drinking,  or  sleeping  in  an  inn.  Indeed,  I  am  per 
suaded  that  this  hospitality  is  one  reason  why  the 
inns  are  not  better  in  the  southern  States,  for,  out  of 
the  towns,  they  are  generally  worse  than  they  are 
found  to  be  farther  north. 

From  what  I  have  written,  you  must  have  already 
gathered  that  the  southern  States  are  to  be  divided 
into  two  classes  of  society,  or,  rather,  that  in  some 
instances,  one  State  may,  in  itself,  contain  both.  1 
allude  to  the  material  difference  which  exists  between 
the  small  proprietors,  who  are,  to  all  intents,  capital 
farmers,  with  from  four,  or  even  from  one,  to  twenty 
slaves,  and  the  great  planters,  who  own  several  hun 
dreds.  The  former  generally  grow  wheat,  corn, 


644  MR.  PAULD1NG. 

(maize)  and  all  the  other  articles  of  a  divided  hus 
bandry;  while  the  others  produce  tobacco,  rice,  cot 
ton,  or  sugar.  They  are,  however,  beginning  to  grow 
tobacco  in  some  of  the  free  States,  as  in  Ohio. 

But  I  have  not  room,  or  knowledge  enough,  to  en 
ter  into  the  endless  details  which  such  a  state  of  so 
ciety,  and  regions  so  vast,  can  produce.  You  will 
see  some  curious  accounts  of  manners  and  customs 
in  the  "  Letters  from  the  South,"  a  book  that  is  as 
cribed  to  Mr.  Paulding,  an  American  writer,  who 
stands  among  the  highest  of  his  countrymen  for  talent, 
and  who,  being  a  gentleman  generally  known  to  his 
countrymen,  has  had  the  best  opportunities  for  observ 
ing  their  manners  in  those  parts  of  the  country  that 
he  has  visited. 


TO  THE  COUNT  JULES  DE  BETHIZY, 


Boston, 

I  ARRIVED  here  about  a  fortnight  since,  in  order  to 
see  the  town,  and  to  witness  a  ceremony  that  took 
place  yesterday.  Before  attempting  a  description  of 
the  latter,  I  shall  give  a  brief  answer  to  your  question 
concerning  the  movements  of  your  countryman. 

During  my  recent  excursions  to  the  south,  I  fre- 
ruently  met  La  Fayette,  who  has  now  been  in  nearly 
all,  if  not  in  every  one,  of  the  twenty-four  States  of 
this  Union.  So  far  from  the  warmth  and  cordiality 
of  his  reception  having  in  the  least  abated,  he  is  just 
as  much  the  object  of  affectionate  and  sincere  atten- 


FIREMEN.  645 

tion  to-day  as  he  was  the  hour  he  landed.  We  were 
in  New-York  together  lately,  when  there  was  a  con 
stant  succession  of  entertainments  in  his  honour,  and 
as  earnest  a  desire  manifested  to  press  about  his  per 
son  as  in  the  interviews  I  have  so  often  related. 

Among  the  different  public  exhibitions  got  up  on 
this  occasion,  there  was  one  which  is  worthy  of  be 
ing  particularly  mentioned,  by  its  singularity.  There 
is  a  great  deal  of  wood  used  in  the  construction  of 
most  American  houses.  Until  within  the  last  twenty 
years  a  great  many  in  New-York  (more  especially  in 
the  less  pretending  quarters  of  the  town)  were  built 
of  this  material  altogether.  There  are,  consequently, 
an  extraordinary  number  of  fires  in  that  city.  Fires 
are  infinitely  more  frequent  in  all  parts  of  America 
than  in  Europe,  from  this  very  cause.  In  a  city  like 
New- York,  it  is  also  a  consequence  of  frequent  dan 
ger  from  such  an  enemy,  that  there  exist  admirable 
skill  and  preparation  to  subdue  it.  It  is  often  said, 
and,  from  repeated  observation  I  believe  it  to  be  true, 
that  the  firemen  of  New- York  are  more  expert  and 
adventurous  than  those  of  any  other  town  in  the 
world.  When  an  alarm  is  given,  the  citizens,  in 
general,  give  themselves  no  trouble  in  the  matter, 
unless  chance  has  placed  them  in  the  immediate  vi 
cinity  of  the  danger.  The  cry  is  sounded  by  boys 
and  repeated  by  the  firemen  themselves,  for  a  minute 
or  two,  and  then  a  few  or  more  bells,  according  to 
the  degree  of  the  danger,  ring  the  alarm.  In  the 
day  these  frequent  cries  produce  no  extraordinary 
sensation,  but  when  they  break  in  upon  the  stillness 
and  security  of  the  night,  I  scarcely  know  a  more 
startling  or  disagreeable  interruption  to  one's  slum 
bers.  There  is  a  defect  in  this  part  of  the  arrange 
ment,  though  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  can  be" well 
remedied  under  the  present  system.  The  firemen 
are  citizens ;  chiefly  shop-keepers  and  mechanics, 
and  they  pursue  their  ordinary  employments  at  all 


646  A  FIRE  IN  NEW-YORK. 

times,  except  when  required  to  meet  to  render  aid, 
or  occasionally  for  the  purpose  of  discipline.  The 
latter  is  little  needed,  however,  in  a  place  where 
there  is  so  much  serious  practice. 

I  remember  to  have  been  at  one  of  these  fires  in 
the  night.  A  vast  pile  of  pine  boards,  which  filled 
a  lot  adjoining  a  row  of  noble  brick  houses,  was 
in  flames  when  I  reached  the  place.  Within  fifty 
feet,  on  the  other  side,  there  stood  a  small  temporary 
wooden  building.  The  sheets  of  the  element  flashed 
upwards  against  a  battlement  of  brick,  which  they 
even  surmounted,  and  bending  like  the  tongue  of  the 
serpent,  they  wound  themselves  along  the  cornices 
of  the  adjoining  dwelling.  It  was  too  late  to  save 
much  of  the  lumber,  and  all  the  attention  of  the  fire 
men  was  given  to  the  buildings.  Engine  arrived  after 
engine,  with  great  rapidity  ;  and  with  the  most  beau 
tiful  accuracy,  the  captain  of  each  machine  took  his 
station  in  the  place  he  was  ordered  to  occupy.  There 
might  have  been  two  thousand  persons  collected  at 
the  spot ;  but  scarcely  any  other  sound  was  heard 
than  the  whizzing  of  the  streams  of  water,  the  strokes 
of  the  engines,  and  the  crackling  of  the  conflagration, 
Water  was  thrown  from  one  machine  to  another,  by 
means  of  conducting  leathern  tubes.  One  of  those, 
near  which  I  stood,  burst.  I  followed  the  man  who 
was  sent  on  the  errand  that  immediately  succeeded 
the  discovery  of  the  accident.  He  approached  a 
carriage  loaded  with  the  article  he  needed,  and  com 
municated  the  fact ;  "  So  many  feet  of  hose,"  said 
the  person  to  whom  he  addressed  himself,  with  per 
fect  quiet;  it  was  supplied,  and  the  damage  was  re 
paired  without  the  slightest  confusion,  and  without 
the  least  unnecessary  delay.  From  time  to  time,  the 
flames  were  seen  kindling  on  the  roof  of  a  small 
wooden  building,  and  then  the  engine  nearest  the 
conflagration  directed  its  stream,  for  an  instant,  to 
the  spot.  No  rifleman  could  have  sent  his  deadly 


FIRE    ENGINES.  647 

messenger  with  surer  aim,  than  the  water  fell  upon 
the  little  torch-like  flame. 

The  families  continued  in  the  adjoining  houses, 
and  the  proprietor  of  the  building  next  the  lumber, 
resolutely  refused  to  open  his  doors  for  the  removal 
of  the  furniture,  though  his  cornices  were  frequently 
blazing.  He  was  right;  for  the  steadiness,  activity, 
and  skill  of  the  firemen,  soon  reduced  the  glaring 
torrent  of  the  elements  to  a  pile  of  black  smouldering 
ruin. 

The  ceremony  to  which  I  alluded  in  the  opening 
of  this  letter,  was  a  review  of  these  firemen  by  La 
Fayette.  The  engines,  with  their  companies,  were 
all  assembled  in  the  little  park  (paddock  would  be  a 
better  name,)  in  front  of  the  City  Hall.  These  engines 
bear  some  such  comparison  to  the  engines  of  Europe, 
as  the  English  mail-coaches,  on  a  birth-day,  bear  to 
the  ordinary  French  diligences  in  the  provinces.  No 
nobleman's  carriage  is  more  glossy,  neater,  or,  con 
sidering  their  respective  objects,  of  more  graceful 
form.  They  are  also  a  little  larger  than  those  we 
see  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic,  though  not  in  the 
least  clumsy.  When  La  Fayette  had  passed  in  front 
of  these  beautiful  and  exquisitely  neat  machines, 
they  formed  themselves  in  a  circle.  At  a  signal  the 
engines  were  played,  and  forty  limpid  streams  shot 
upward,  toward  an  imaginary  point  in  the  air.  It 
appeared  to  me  that  they  all  reached  that  point  at 
the  same  instant,  and  their  water  uniting,  they  formed 
a  jet  tfeau  that  was  as  remarkable  for  its  conceit  as 
for  its  beauty. 

But  the  ceremony  yesterday,  was  of  a  very  differ 
ent  description.  It  was  the  anniversary  of  the  battle 
of  Bunker's  hill.  Fifty  years  ago,  the  yeomanry  of 
New  England  first  met  the  battalions  of  England,  in 
open  and  deadly  conflict.  The  affair  of  Lexington 
had  occurred  a  few  weeks  earlier ;  but,  though  blood 
was  first  drawn  in  that  straggling  contest,  it  neither 


648  BUNKER'S  HILL. 

produced  the  important  results,  nor  was  it  character 
ized  by  so  many  striking  and  memorable  incidents  as 
the  affair  on  the  hill. 

In  the  battle  of  Bunker's  hill,  the  Americans  had 
no  positive  leader.  A  thousand  men,  chiefly  youths 
under  the  age  of  five-and-twenty,  passed  over  in  the 
night  from  the  adjacent  country,  into  the  peninsula 
of  Charlestown.  It  was  intended  to  occupy  a  high 
conical  eminence  called  Bunker's  hill,  at  the  distance 
of  long  cannon-shot  from  the  batteries  in  the  town 
of  Boston.  By  some  mistake,  the  working  party 
advanced  much  nearer  to  the  enemy,  and  took  pos 
session  of  a  much  lower  ridge  of  land,  that  termin 
ated  suddenly  at  a  short  distance  in  their  front,  quite 
near  to  the  shore.  The  latter  hill  was,  in  fact,  known 
by  the  name  of  Breed's.*  Here  a  small  redoubt, 
flanked  by  a  low  entrenchment,  was  thrown  up.  The 
party  who  performed  this  labour,  was  led  by  a  gen 
tleman  of  the  name  of  Prescott,  who  had  seen  some 
service  in  the  colonial  wars,  and  who  held  the  rank 
of  colonel  in  the  levies  of  the  province  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay.  You  will  remember  that  the  affair  oc 
curred  in  the  summer  of  1775,  and,  as  the  indepen 
dence  of  the  colonies  was  not  declared  until  July 
1776,  the  appellation  of  States  was  then  unknown. 

There  was  an  eminent  physician  in  Boston,  of  the 
name  of  Warren,  who  had  acted  a  conspicuous  part 
in  all  the  political  measures  that  preceded  the  quar 
rel.  This  person  was  distinguished  for  his  high  moral 
intrepidity.  As  he  was  a  man  in  the  vigour  of  life, 
and  of  a  daring  mind,  the  provincial  congress  of  Mas 
sachusetts  had  chosen  him  a  major-general  in  their 
levies  only  the  day  before  the  battle. 

General  Warren  appeared  on  Breed's  hill  in  the 


*  Bunker  and  Breed  are  the  names  of  two  families  of  New- 
England.  Individuals  of  those  names  were,  or  had  been,  the 
owners  of  the  two  hills  in  question. 


A    MONUMENT.  640 

morning,  bearing  a  musket,  though  not  with  any  de 
sire  to  exercise  his  newly  acquired  military  authority. 
Delicacy  to  his  veteran  countryman,  and  perhaps 
some  incompleteness  in  the  forms  of  his  appointment, 
might  have  forbidden  such  an  assumption  of  power. 
It  is  said  that  Mr.  Prescott  offered  him  the  command, 
and  that  he  declined  assuming  it.  In  the  course  of 
the  movements  that  preceded  the  conflict,  General 
Putnam,  a  well-known  partisan  officer  of  the  adjoin 
ing  province  of  Connecticut,  led  some  small  bodies 
into  tJie  peninsula,  over  whom,  he  of  course  exer 
cised  a  species  of  authority.  But  the  chief  command, 
if  it  belonged  to  any  one,  was  the  right  of  Mr.  Pres 
cott,  who  constructed,  and  who  held  the  half-finished 
redoubt  The  result  of  the  battle  is  well  known ; 
but,  unhappily,  at  its  close,  Mr.  Warren,  or  as  he  is 
usually  called  from  the  nature  of  his  death,  General 
Warren,  fell,  by  a  musket-ball  which  passed  through 
his  head. 

The  exceeding  merit  and  unquestionable  patriot 
ism,  no  less  than  the  high  rank  which  this  gentleman 
was  destined  by  his  countrymen  to  fill,  induced  them 
to  consider  his  loss,  and  very  justly,  as  the  greatest 
calamity  that  befell  them  on  that  day.  A  small,  un 
pretending  monument,  of  very  perishable  materials, 
had,  therefore,  been  erected  to  his  memory,  on  the 
precise  spot  where  he  fell.  But  it  is  now  intended 
to  rear  a  column  in  granite,  which  shall  be  more 
worthy  of  the  great  occasion,  and  more  in  conformity 
with  the  augmented  means  of  the  State,  to  perpetu 
ate  an  event  which  is  deemed  to  be  so  creditable  to 
their  exertions  in  the  conflict.  The  ceremony  of 
yesterday  was  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  this  monu 
ment. 

I  shall  not  pretend  to  enter  into  a  detail  of  pro 
ceedings  that  were  alike  noble  and  affecting.  Tens 
of  thousands  were  on  the  hill,  and  Mr.  Webster,  a 
distinguished  citizen  of  Boston,  addressed  his  coun- 
3K 


650  BOSTON. 

trymen  from  a  stand  where  his  words  reached  the 
ears  of  a  multitude.  I  saw  La  Fayette  in  the  occu 
pancy  of  a  high  place,  and  when  the  orator  spoke  of 
his  particular  services,  there  were  a  few  minutes  of 
intense  and  delightful  interest.  There  was  also  a  little 
group  of  gray-headed  and  tottering  veterans,  who, 
fifty  years  before,  had  risked  their  lives,  or  shed  their 
blood,  on  the  precise  spot  where  so  many  people  had 
now  assembled  in  prosperous  and  peaceful  security. 
Altogether  it  was  one  of  the  most  interesting:  ceremo 
nies  I  ever  witnessed,  and  I  regret  that  my  limits  ab 
solutely  forbid  its  description.  Among  other  things, 
there  was  an  entertainment  spread  on  the  hill,  of 
near  or  quite  four  thousand  covers. 

Boston  is  a  wealthy,  a  thriving,  and  decidedly  a 
picturesque  town.  It  stands  on  an  uneven  surface, 
and  it  occupies  nearly  the  whole  of  a  peninsula  of 
several  miles  in  circuit.  Large  villages  are  rising 
on  the  adjoining  shores,  at  the  different  points  where 
the  numerous  bridges  connect  the  town  with  what 
may  be  called  the  main.  The  population,  within  a 
circumference  of  twelve  miles,  must,  I  think,  exceed 
eighty  thousand  souls.  The  harbour  is  beautiful,  and 
dotted  with  islands.  It  is  one  of  the  most  secure  in 
America,  and  would  easily  contain  five  or  six  hun 
dred  sail.  But  there  is  no  fixing  its  limits,  as  it  is 
several  miles  to  the  open  sea,  and  warehouses  might 
be  erected  to  advantage  on  most  of  the  islands,  espe 
cially  if  a  few  breakwaters  were  constructed. 

One  of  the  best,  and  the  oldest  of  the  universities 
of  the  United  States,  is  within  a  few  miles  of  Boston. 
We  visited  this  institution,  as  well  as  that  of  Yale,  in 
our  journey  to  this  place.  We  dined  in  the  commons 
of  the  latter,  with  one  of  the  tutors.  I  was  struck 
with  one  circumstance  on  this  occasion,  which,  as  it 
is  in  striking  contrast  with  what  occurs  in  the  univer- 
sities  of  the  mother  country,  1  shall  mention. 

Cadwallader  has  a  kinsman  at  Yale,  who  is  de- 


YALE  COLLEGE.  651 

scended  from  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  best  known 
families  of  this  country.  The  young  man  himself, 
who  is  a  fine,  gentleman-like  and  manly  youth,  is 
actually  in  possession  (or  will  be  on  attaining  his 
majority)  of  a  fortune  that  would  be  deemed  very 
large  in  most  countries.  He  dined  at  a  table  within 
twenty  feet  of  us.  During  the  repast,  which  was 
exceedingly  simple  and  without  any  beverage  but 
water  and  cider,  I  observed  one  of  the  servants 
coolly  seated  by  the  side  of,  and  in  close  conference 
with,  the  kinsman  of  my  friend.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  domestic  arose  to  hand  the  bread  to  one  of  the 
young  gentlemen.  In  the  course  of  the  evening, 
wrhen.we  were  at  our  inn,  I  ventured  to  ask  the 
youth  if  the  servants  of  the  university  were  permit 
ted  to  take  such  liberties.  The  face  of  the  young 
man  flushed,  and  he  told  me  he  did  not  understand 

me.     I  explained.     "  Oh,  that  was ;  he  is  a 

class-mate:  but  he  waits,  during  the  meals,  in  order 
to  pay  his  board:  he  is  poor,  and  can  do  no  better." 
"  And  you  make  a  companion  of  him  ?"  "  Why  not : 
is  poverty  a  shame?"  I  was  silenced,  and  when 

had  left  us,  the  conversation  was  renewed 

between  Cadwallader  and  myself. 

"  There  is  a  singular  but  gross  error  prevalent  in 
Europe,"  said  my  friend,  "on  the  subject  of  the  in 
fluence  of  wealth  in  America.  Money  is  a  positive 
good  every  where,  since  it  buys  not  only  necessaries, 
but  commands,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  the  re 
spect  of  those  who  wish  to  profit  by  it.  But  money 
is  more  within  the  reach  of  individuals  here  than  any 
where  else,  at  least,  a  sufficiency  of  money  to  leave 
men  in  the  possession  of  those  independent  feelings 
which  belong  to  nature,  and  which  must  be  suppress 
ed  by  some  artificial  cause,  or  they  will  be  found  in 
every  bosom,  inasmuch  as  they  depend  on  the  inhe 
rent  qualities  of  pride  and  will.  I  think  money  of 
more  importance  in  England,  than  in  any  country  1 


652  INFLUENCE  Of    WEALTH. 

have  ever  visited.  It  is  obviously  necessary  it  should 
be  so,  since,  without  it,  men  are  reduced  to  scanty 
means  of  subsistence,  and  to  a  straitened  and  often 
miserable  economy.  I  have  seen  people  in  England 
with  incomes  of  tw3  or  three  hundred  a  year,  exist 
ing  in  narrow  lodgings,  compelled  to  calculate  closely 
the  amount  of  their  daily  consumption,  and  positively 
enjoying  no  one  exclusive  advantage ;  when  men  of 
the  same  income,  in  America,  might  dwell  in  houses 
of  three  times  their  size,  better  furnished,  and  sup 
plied  in  abundance  with  every  necessary  of  life ;  in 
deed,  in  an  abundance  that  is  scarcely  known  in  any 
part  of  Europe.  I  know  this  fact  from  close  observa 
tion.  People  may  wish  to  dispute  it ;  but  the  prices 
of  things  are  sufficient  evidences  of  its  truth.  There 
is  scarcely  a  necessary  of  life,  clothes  and  some  few 
manufactured  articles  excepted,  that  is  not  to  be  had 
at  about  half  the  cost  in  America  that  it  can  be  had 
in  England.  But  most  of  the  exceptions  are  articles 
to  be  purchased  rarely :  in  the  articles  of  luxury, 
there  is  no  comparison.  It  is,  therefore,  no  more 
than  a  natural  consequence  of  such  abundance,  that 
money  should  be  less  esteemed  than  where  indul 
gences  are  dearer.  Then  our  institutions,  our  habits, 
and  our  opinions,  give  no  artificial  importance  to 
wealth.  A  man  can  neither  buy  preferment  in  church, 
state,  army,  navy,  nor  in  any  thing  else,  with  his  dol 
lars.  He  can  give  dinners,  and  he  can  educate  his  chil 
dren,  and  give  them  manners,  and,  in  this  direct  and 
natural  manner,  advance  his  own  or  their  importance 
but  there  the  benefits  of  money  cease.  I  do  no* 
mean  to  say  that  society  is  not  penetrated  in  America 
by  the  use  of  money,  for  it  is  to  be  penetrated  every 
where  by  its  agency ;  but  it  must  be  done  here  ex 
actly  as  it  is  done  in  France,  for  instance  ;  and  it  has 
vastly  less  instrumentality  in  effecting  that  object  than 
it  has  in  England.  A  rich  widow  cannot  get  prece 
dency  of  her  superiors,  by  giving  her  hand  to  any 


INFLUENCE  OF  MONEY.  653 

possessor  of  a  high  title ;  nor  can  a  seat  in  Congress 
be  bought,  and  dollars  be  made  the  entering  wedge 
of  further  advancement,  except  as  people  choose  to 
yield  to  their  influence  in  the  shape  of  entertain 
ments,  extravagance,  and  show.  In  point  of  fact, 
money,  without  character,  will  do  little  here  beyond 
what  it  can  get  in  plain  barter.  But  you  have  been 
at  Oxford.  There,  young  men  can  buy  silk  gowns, 
and,  with  silk  gowns,  consideration,  and  with  consid 
eration  that  is  bought  by  money,  they  get  exaggerated 
and  unnatural  ideas  of  its  importance.  You  see 

young never  dreamt  that  his  class-mate  was 

poor,  though  he  himself  has  more  than  twenty  thou 
sand  a  year,  f  affirm,  for  I  have  passed  the  ordeal, 
and  I  know  it,  that  the  thought  of  distinction  from 
money  never  enters  the  head  of  an  American  school 
boy,  unless,  indeed,  it  may  be  the  child  of  some  ex 
ceedingly  vulgar  parvenu. 

"Now,  what  can  be  more  absurd  than  the  fact  that 
grave  English  writers  are  constantly  affirming,  that 
there  is  no  other  ground  of  distinction  in  America 
than  money?  This  incessant  habit  of  asserting  so 
glaring  a  falsehood  can  only  proceed  from  a  con 
sciousness  of  the  exorbitant  influence  of  wealth  among 
themselves.  There  is  no  sort  of  doubt,  that  when 
money  is  united  to  merit  and  talent,  in  the  United 
States,  it  can  do  more  than  when  the  latter  quali 
ties  stand  unsupported  by  so  powerful  an  ally ;  but 
among  all  the  unjust  and  ridiculous  charges  brought 
against  us,  there  is  not  one  more  absurd  than  this, 
that  money  places  men  in  power,  or  at  the  head  of 
society,  or  high  in  the  estimation  of  their  fellow-citi 
zens.  With  the  exception  of  the  Patroon,  there  is 
not  a  decidedly  wealthy  man  in  the  whole  represent 
ation  of  the  State  of  New- York.  Mr.  Clinton  is  no 
toriously  very  poor.  Of  all  the  Presidents,  only  one 
could  be  called  rich.  There  is  not  a  man  of  any 
great  fortune  in  any  one  of  the  higher  offices  of  the 
3K2 


654  INFLUENCE    OF    MONEY. 

general  government ;  and  it  is  not  thought  very  repu 
table  for  a  man  of  good  estate  to  fill  a  situation  of 
mere  emolument.  Indeed,  his  countrymen  would 
not  let  him  have  it,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  had 
enough  already,  unless  his  peculiar  talents  were 
needed. 

"  As  to  society,  it  must  always  support  that  part 
of  its  influence  which  is  dependent  on  show  and  ex 
pense,  by  money;  but  in  large  towns,  where  there  is 
competition  in  wealth,  as  in  other  things,  money  does 
but  little  in  this  way,  and  it  is  every  hour  doing  less. 
You  scarcely  saw  a  parvenu,  unless  he  had  merit, 
(and  a  large  proportion  of  our  parvenus  have  merit,) 
in  the  circle  into  which  I  introduced  you,  though  you 
saw  a  vast  number  of  men  of  breeding  and  character, 
who  had  very  little  money.  It  is  impossible  to  pre 
vent  people  who  have  money  from  riding  in  coaches 
and  giving  entertainments,  and  it  is  not  possible  to 
prevent  people  of  grovelling  minds  from  envying  them 
these  enjoyments;  but  it  is  possible  for  a  community 
to  be  so  constituted  as  to  limit  the  superiority  of  mere 
money;  and  if  such  a  community  exists  on  the  globe, 
it  exists  here.  I  dare  say  that  men  who  have  made 
their  money,  get  purse-proud,  in  the  United  States,  as 
they  do  in  other  places ;  but  it  must  be  proved  that 
men  who  have  not  money  are  abject,  and  time-serv 
ing,  and  spiritless,  before  any  thing  is  made  out  to 
wards  establishing  that  money  does  more  in  America 
than  it  does  in  France,  or  half  as  much  as  it  does  in 
England." 

I  must  say,  that  my  own  observations  confirm  this 
opinion.  There  was  a  beautiful  simplicity  in  the 
conduct  of  young ,  that  denoted  an  entire  ab 
sence  of  the  coarser  influence  of  money,  and  which 
spoke  volumes  in  favour  of  the  wise  regulations  of 
the  institutions  of  his  college.  I  am  assured,  and,  so 
far  as  opportunity  will  allow  me  to  speak,!  have  every 
where  seen  the  most  perfect  and  just  equality  in  the 


INFLUENCE    OF    MONEY.  655 

treatment  of  the  youths,  in  all  the  public  schools  ) 
have  visited.  I  am  told  that  this  was  not  always  the 
case.  In  Harvard  College,  for  instance,  before  the 
revolution,  the  aristocratic  classification  of  the  mother 
country  prevailed,  and  boys  were  taught  from  earliest 
life,  to  consider  the  adventitious  circumstances  of 
wealth  and  birth  as  being  things  of  primary  good.  As 
Cadwallader  says,  they  who  write  of  this  country, 
should  know  more  of  the  actual  state  of  its  society 
before  they  affirm  so  boldly  that  this  or  that  influence 
controls  society,  on  authority  no  better  than  ihe 
habits  of  those  whd  live  under  systems  so  totally  dif 
ferent.  I  have  certainly  seen  sneers  in  the  public 
journals,  and  heard  them  uttered  too,  against  the 
sudden  elevation  of  this  or  that  individual,  by  means 
of  his  wealth ;  but  I  find,  on  examination,  that  his 
rise  is  little  more  than  the  style  he  can  display,  at  the 
cost  of  money,  and  that  the  bottom  of  the  complaints 
is  generally  envy.  The  boldness  and  distinctness  with 
which  these  remarks  themselves  are  made,  are  proofs 
that  there  is  no  overwhelming,  since  there  is  not  even 
a  silencing,  influence  attached  to  the  possession  of 
wealth. 


TO  THE  COMTE  JULES  DE  BETHIZY. 


Washington, 

MY  pen  grows  weary,  for  I  have  seen  so  much, 
and  written  so  little  to  the  purpose,  that  I  feel  dis 
posed  to  throw  it  away  altogether.  After  making 
the  tour  of  the  coast  of  New-England,  and  seeing  all 
its  large  towns,  I  have  returned  heie  to  prepare  for 
my  departure.  I  cannot  quit  the  country,  however, 
without  giving  you  a  summary  of  the  information  1 


656  A    SUMMARY. 

have  gained,  or  without  indulging  a  little  in  specula 
tions  to  which  that  information  must  naturally  give 
rise. 

The  first  reflection  that  is  excited  in  the  mind  of 
an  intelligent  foreigner,  after  visiting  these  States,  is 
an  inquiry  into  the  causes  that  have  affected  so  much 
\vith  means  so  limited,  and  in  a  time  so  short.  A 
century  ago,  the  whole  of  the  1,000,000  of  square 
miles  that  are  now  more  or  less  occupied  by  these 
people,  did  not  contain  a  million  of  souls.  So  late 
as  the  year  1776,  the  population  was  materially  under 
3,000,000 ;  nor  at  the  time  did  they  actually  cover 
tuore  than  200,000  square  miles,  if  indeed  they  cov 
ered  as  much.  But  since  the  peace  of  1783,  activity, 
enterprise,  intelligence,  and  skill,  appear  to  have  been 
contending  with  each  other,  and  they  have  certainly 
produced  a  result  that  the  world  has  never  before 
witnessed.  I  have  heard  Europeans  say,,  that  when 
they  have  heard  that  the  Americans,  of  whom  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  think  as  dwellers  in  remote 
and  dark  forests,  possessed  a  million  of  tons  of 
shipping,  they  believed  their  neutral  character  had 
made  their  flag  a  cloak  for  the  enterprise  and  wealth 
of  other  nations.  No  doubt  their  commerce  was  a 
little  unnaturally  forced,  and  many  frauds  did  exist ; 
but  the  motives  for  deception  have  ceased  these  dozen 
years,  and  still  America  has  a  million  and  a  half  of 
tonnage.  Perhaps  no  one  demonstration  of  the  energy 
of  this  population  has  excited  in  Europe  the  surprise 
that  has  been  created  by  the  boldness  and  dexterity 
with  which  they  have  constructed  canals,  that  put  to 
shame  all  similar  works  any  where  else.  We  under 
stand  the  nature  and  the  expense  of  this  description 
of  public  works,  and  we  know  how  to  make  a  proper 
estimate  of  the  enterprise  necessary  to  effect  them. 
But  although  the  system  of  canals,  which  has  broke 
so  suddenly  into  existence  in  the  United  States,  within 
the  last  ten  years,  argues  an  advanced  and  advancing 


A    SUMMARY.  657 

state  of  society,  it  manifests  no  new  principle  of  en 
ergy.  It  may  be  a  higher  exhibition  of  the  quality, 
since  the  stage  of  improvement  demands  a  superior 
manifestation  of  skill ;  but,  believe  me,  the  spirit 
which  has  produced  it  has  not  been  dormant  an  hour 
since  the  British  colonies  have  achieved  their  inde 
pendence. 

Although  circumstances  have  lessened  the  interest 
which  Europe  has  felt  in  America,  it  may  be  well 
questioned,  whether  the  United  States  do  not,  at  this 
hour,  enjoy  a  higher  consideration,  on  our  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  than  the  political  doctrines,  formerly  in 
fashion,  would  have  given  to  a  people  so  dispersed, 
so  few  in  numbers,  and  so  remote.  Their  vast  and 
growing  commerce,  alone,  makes  them  an  object  of 
the  greatest  attention  ;  and  the  sure  conviction  that 
the  child  of  that  commerce,  a  marine,  is  likely  soon 
to  play  its  part  in  the  great  game  of  nations,  gives 
additional  interest  to  this  republic.  Still  our  antici 
pations  are  vague,  founded  on  data  but  imperfectly 
understood,  and,  at  all  times,  fettered  by  the  preju 
dices  and  distinctive  opinions  of  our  own  hemisphere. 

In  the  first  place,  the  influence  of  emigration  on 
the  growth  of  the  United  States  has  been  usually 
overrated  by  Europeans.  I  have  had  occasion  to 
say,  already,  that  for  thirty  years  it  did  not  add  many 
more  than  five  thousand  souls,  annually,  to  the  popu 
lation.  The  fact  is  sufficiently  known  by  the  returns 
of  the  custom-houses,  where  all  masters  of  vessels  are 
obliged  to  report  the  number  of  their  passengers.  It 
is  true,  that  thousands,  who  leave  the  mother  country 
for  the  British  provinces,  find  their  way  into  the  re 
public  by  land ;  but,  perhaps,  an  equal  number  of 
natives  have  removed  into  the  Canadas,  the  upper 
province  of  which  is  nearly,  or  quite  half,  peopled  by 
emigrants  from  the  States,  or  their  descendants. 

The  first,  the  most  important  and  the  least  under 
stood,  cause  of  the  exceeding  advance  of  the  Amerr 


658  A    SUMMARY. 

can  States,  is  to  be  found  in  the  character  of  their 
population.  The  general  diffusion  of  a  respectable 
degree  of  intelligence,  would,  of  itself,  produce  an 
effect  that  it  might  be  difficult  to  estimate  precisely, 
but  which  may  be  always  traced  in  its  strongest  point 
of  view,  in  the  respective  conditions  of  the  savage 
and  of  the  civilized  man.  In  addition  to  this  general 
and  mighty  cause,  the  actual  necessities  of  society 
supply  an  incentive  to  ingenuity  and  talent,  that  are 
wanted  elsewhere.  Were  the  American  an  indolent 
and  contented  being,  nurtured  in  dulness,  and  kept 
in  ignorance  of  the  incentives  which  prompt  men  to 
exertion,  this  very  state  of  necessity  might  serve  to 
depress  him  still  lower  in  the  scale  of  being.  But 
there  is  nothing  more  surprising  in  the  country,  than 
the  universal  knowledge  which  exists  of  the  condition 
of  Europe.  Their  wants,  therefore,  feed  their  de 
sires,  and,  together,  they  give  birth  to  all  the  thou 
sand  auxiliaries  of  exceeding  ingenuity.  A  proof  of 
this  fact  is  to  be  found  in  the  manner  in  which  the 
first  canal  of  any  importance  was  constructed.  As  it 
speaks  volumes  on  the  subject,  I  shall  relate  it. 

Five-and-twenty  years  ago,  engineers  from  Europe 
began  to  make  their  appearance  in  America.  They 
brought  with  them  the  rules  of  science,  and  a  compe 
tent  knowledge  of  the  estimates  of  force,  and  the 
adaptation  of  principles  to  results  ;  but  they  brought 
them,  all  calculated  to  meet  the  contingencies  of 
the  European  man.  Experience  showed  that  they 
neither  knew  how  to  allow  for  the  difficulties 
of  a  novel  situation,  nor  for  the  excess  of  intellect 
they  were  enabled  to  use.  Their  estimates  were 
always  wild,  uncertain,  and  fatal,  in  a  country  that 
was  still  experimenting.  But  five-and-twenty  years 
ago  was  too  soon  for  canals  in  America.  It  was  wise 
to  wait  for  a  political  symptom  in  a  country  where 
a  natural  impulse  will  always  indicate  the  hour  for 
action.  Though  five-and-twenty,  or  twenty,  or  even 


A    SUMMARY.  659 

fifteen  years,  were  too  soon,  still  ten  were  not.  Ten 
years  ago,  demonstrations  had  been  made  which  en 
abled  keen  observers  to  detect  that  the  time  for  ex 
traordinary  exertion  had  come.  The  great  western 
canal  of  New- York  was  conceived  and  planned.  But 
instead  of  seeking  for  European  engineers,  a  few  of 
the  common  surveyors  of  the  country  were  called  to 
the  aid  of  those  who  were  intrusted  with  the  duty 
of  making  the  estimates  ;  and  men  of  practical  know 
ledge,  who  understood  the  people  with  whom  they 
had  to  deal,  and  who  had  tutored  their  faculties  in 
the  thousand  collisions  of  active  life,  were  brought 
to  the  task  as  counsellors.  The  result  is  worthy  of 
grave  attention.  The  work,  in  its  fruits  and  in  its 
positive  extent,  exceeded  any  thing  of  a  similar  na 
ture  ever  attempted  in  Christendom.  The  authority 
to  whom  responsibility  was  due,  was  more  exacting 
than  any  of  our  hemisphere.  Economy  was  incul 
cated  to  a  degree  little  known  in  other  nations  ;  and, 
in  short,  greater  accuracy  than  usual  was  required 
under  circumstances  apparently  the  least  favourable 
to  attain  it.  Now,  this  canal  was  made  (with  such 
means)  at  a  materially  less  cost,  in  infinitely  less 
time,  and  with  a  boldness  in  the  estimates,  and  an 
accuracy  in  the  results,  that  were  next  to  marvellous. 
There  was  not  a  man  of  any  reputation  for  science 
employed  in  the  work.  But  the  utmost  practical 
knowledge  of  men  and  of  things  was  manifested 
in  the  whole  of  the  affair.  The  beginning  of  each 
year  brought  its  estimate  of  the  expense,  and  of  the 
profits,  and  the  close  its  returns,  in  wonderful  con 
formity.  The  labour  is  completed,  and  the  benefit 
is  exceeding  the  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine. 

In  this  sketch  of  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  New- York  canal  has  been  made,  we  may  trace 
the  cause  of  the  prodigious  advance  of  this  nation. 
Some  such  work  as  this  was  necessary  to  demonstrate 
to  the  world,  that  the  qualities  which  are  so  exclu- 


660  A    SUMMARY. 

sively  the  fruits  of  liberty  and  of  a  diffused  intelli 
gence,  have  an  existence  elsewhere  than  in  the  de 
sires  of  the  good.  Wi  thout  it,  it  might  have  been  said, 
the  advance  of  America  is  deceptive ;  she  is  doing  no 
more  than  our  own  population  could  do  under  cir 
cumstances  that  admitted  of  so  much  display ;  but 
she  will  find  the  difference  between  felling  trees,  and 
burning  forests,  and  giving  the  finish  which  denotes 
the  material  progress  of  society.  The  mouths  of  such 
critics  are  now  silenced.  The  American  can  point 
to  his  ploughs,  to  his  ships,  to  his  canals,  to  his  bridges, 
and,  in  short,  to  every  thing  that  is  useful  in  his  par 
ticular  state  of  society,  and  demand,  where  a  better 
or  a  cheaper  has  been  produced,  under  any  thing 
like  circumstances  of  equality  ? 

It  is  vain  to  deny  the  causes  or  the  effects  of  the 
American  system,  dear  Bethizy ;  nor  should  a  man  as 
philanthropic  as  yourself  wish  to  deny  them,  since 
they  rest  on  principles  that  favour  the  happiness  and 
prosperity  of  the  human  race.  We  should  not  cavil 
about  names,  nor  minor  distinctions,  in  governments^ 
if  the  great  and  moving  principles  are  such  as  con 
template  the  improvement  of  the  species  in  the  mass, 
and  not  in  exclusive  and  selfish  exceptions. 

The  second  great  cause  of  the  advancement  of  the 
United  States  is  the  abundance  which  is  the  conse 
quence  of  room  and  of  intelligence  united,  and  which 
admits  of  so  rapid  an  increase  of  its  positive  physical 
force.  It  is  known  that  the  population  has  doubled 
in  about  twenty-three  years,  though  it  is  supposed 
that  this  rate  of  increase  is  gradually  diminishing.  It 
is  probable  that  in  the  next  fifty-five  years,  there  will 
be  two  more  duplications  of  the  amount.  Of  this 
number,  supposing  that  slavery  continues  in  its  pres 
ent  form,  and  under  its  present  influences,  (two  things 
that  cannot  be  rationally  supposed,)  seven  millions 
will  be  slaves,  and  forty-three  millions  freemen.  But 
slavery,  though  on  the  increase,  as  a  whole,  is  known 


A    SUMMARY  661 

not  to  be  on  the  increase  in  a  ratio  equal  to  that  of 
the  whites. 

The  third  cause  of  the  great  progress  of  this  coun 
try,  and  it  is  one  intimately  blended  with  all  the 
other  moral  causes,  is  the  perfect  freedom  of  its  civil 
and  religious  institutions,  which  give  the  utmost  pos 
sible  play  to  the  energies,  and  the  strongest  possible 
inducements  to  the  laudable  ambition  of  man. 

There  is  unquestionably  a  powerful  action  and  re 
action  between  all  these  influences,  which  produce  a 
vast  combined  result.  A  rapid  review  of  what  has 
been  done  in  the  way  of  general  improvement,  in  the 
nation,  may  serve  to  give  some  idea  of  their  effects. 

I  shall  not  write  here  of  the  condition  of  the  army, 
and  navy,  and  militia,  since  enough  has  been  already 
said  to  furnish  a  sufficiently  accurate  knowledge  of 
those  branches  of  the  subject. 

The  finances  of  the  United  States,  you  know  to 
be  prosperous.  The  public  debt,  at  the  close  of  the 
last  war,  (1815,)  amounted  to  about  120,000,000. 
On  the  first  of  October,  1827,  it  was  68,913,541  dol 
lars.  But  as  seven  millions  of  this  debt  was  created 
for  the  purchase  of  the  bank  stock  so  often  name.d, 
the  true  debt  should  not  be  estimated  at  more  than 
61,913,541  dollars.*  This  debt  pays  an  interest  of 
6,  5*  4|,  and  3  per  cent.  On  13,296,247  dollars,  an 
interest  of  3  per  cent,  is  paid ;  on  28,831,128,  an  in 
terest  of  6  per  cent,  is  paid ;  on  15,993,972,  an  interest 
of  4j  per  cent,  is  paid;  on  5,792,000,  an  interest  of 
5  per  cent,  is  paid,  ^hese  sums  make  the  amount 
named.  The  gradual  diminution  of  the  debt  is  taking 
place  as  fast  as  the  terms  of  the  loajs  will  admit, 

*  On  the  first  of  January  1828,  it  Was  estimated  to  be 
67,413,377  dollars;  or,  deducting  the  sevea  millions  for  bank 
stock,  at  60,413,377.  The  writer  has  since  seen  it  announced, 
that  5,000,000  of  principal  will  be  paid  on  the  1st  of  July,  1828, 
BO  that  the  debt  of  the  United  States,  on  that  day,  will  be  about 
55,413,377  dollars,  if  the  cost  of  the  bank, stock  shall  be  deduct 
ed.  (See  next  page.) 

3L 


662  A    SUMMARY. 

and  on  those  portions  which  pay  the  highest  rate  of 
interest.  The  last  may  be  redeemed  in  1835,  and 
probably  will  be  redeemed,  at  the  present  rate  of 
diminution,  before  the  end  of  the  next  dozen  years, 
unless  some  new  causes  for  loans  should  occur.  In 
addition  to  these  facts,  it  must  be  remembered  that  a 
stock  which  pays  but  three  per  cent,  is  never  worth 
par.  Thus,  if  the  1 3,296,247  of  the  3  per  cents,  can 
be  bought  for  80  dollars  in  the  100,  this  portion  of 
the  debt  is  also  reduced  in  point  of  fact  to  10,596,968 
dollars.  So  that,  all  things  considered,  the  whole 
actual  debt  of  the  United  States  cannot  be  consider 
ed  as  being  more  (on  the  1st  of  July,  1828)  than 
52,714,098  dollars,  or  something  less  than  12,000,000 
of  pounds  sterling. 

In  a  country  so  united  in  interests,  but  so  separated 
by  distance,  a  system  of  extended  and  easy  internal 
communication  is  of  vital  importance.  Without  it, 
neither  commerce,  nor  political  harmony,  nor  intelli 
gence,  could  exist  to  the  degree  that  is  necessary  to 
the  objects  of  the  confederation.  It  has  therefore 
been  effected  at  sosae  cost,  but  in  a  manner  that  is 
already  returning  its  reward  in  pecuniary  profit,  as 
well  as  in  the  other  great  essentials  named.  The 
subject  naturally  divides  itself  into  three  branches, 
viz.  that  of  information,  that  of  internal  trade,  and 
that  of  personal  communication. 

For  the  first,  the  general  post-office,  with  its  num 
berless  dependencies,  has  been  established.  The 
diffusion  of  intelligence  is  juftly  considered  by  the 
American  statesmen  to  be  no  less  important  to  the 
preservation  of  their  institutions,  than  to  the  general 
advancement  of  the  character  and  power  of  the  na 
tion.  There  are  in  the  country  about  7000  post- 
offices,  (1828,)  and  a  nearly  incalculable  distance  of 
post  route.  The  chief  of  this  department  says,  that 
there  is  now  scarcely  an  inhabited  district  of  any 
size  in  all  these  vast  regions,  to  which  the  ramifica- 


A  SUMMARY.  663 

tions  of  these  routes  do  not  extend.  The  same  admi 
rable  economy  exists  in  the  management  of  this  de 
partment,  as  in  all  the  others  of  the  government. 
Although  it  is  quite  plain  that  comparatively  little 
correspondence  can  exist  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
routes  so  extended,  yet  the  department  not  only  pays 
for  itself,  but  it  is  beginning  to  yield  a  small  revenue 
to  the  country.  One  would  think  that,  under  such 
circumstances,  the  cost  of  letters  and  journals  was 
greater  here  than  elsewhere.  You  shall  judge  for 
yourself.  A  letter  for  less  than  thirty  miles  pays  six 
cents  ;  for  less  than  eighty,  and  over  thirty,  ten  cents  ; 
for  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  over 
eighty,  twelve  and  a  half  cents  ;  for  all  distances  over 
four  hundred  miles,  twenty-five  cents.  A  cent  is  one 
hundredth  part  of  a  dollar,  or  about  an  English  half 
penny  :  thus  a  letter  will  be  transferred  fifteen  hun 
dred  miles,  for  a  shilling  sterling.  Double  letters 
pay  double,  until  they  attain  a  certain  weight,  when 
they  begin  to  pay  by  the  ounce.  Printed  sheets, 
journals,  or  any  thing  else,  pay  one  cent,  for  less  than 
one  hundred  miles,  per  sheet,  and  one  cent  and  a  half 
for  all  distances  over.  The  editors  of  public  journals 
receive  all  their  printed  sheets  gratis.  The*  mail  is 
carried  in  coaches  a  great  proportion  of  the  distance, 
in  sulkies  in  other  portions,  and  on  horseback  the  rest. 
The  personal  communication  is  effected  by  means 
of  stage-coaches  and  steam-boats.  The  vast  rivers, 
and  the  prodigious  facilities  that  are  offered  by  means 
of  the  bays,  enable  passengers  to  travel  with  astonish 
ing  ease,  rapidity  and  cheapness.  The  traveller  may 
leave  Boston  by  land  ;  a  ride  of  forty-five  miles  brings 
him  to  Providence  ;  here  he  embarks  for  New- York, 
200  miles  further,  by  the  way  of  the  sound  of  Long 
Island  ;  the  Raritan  carries  him  to  Brunswick  ;  a  few 
miles  more  of  land  carriage  takes  him  to  the  Delaware; 
the  river  and  bay  of  that  name  bring  him  to  New 
castle  ;  three  hours  by  land,  and  he  is  on  the  waters 


664  A  SUMMARY. 

of  the  Chesapeake ;  from  the  bay  he  may  ascend  half 
a  dozen  rivers,  or  proceed  along  the  coast.  At  Nor 
folk,  he  enters  a  canal,  and  by  means  of  sounds,  bays, 
and  trifling  land  carriage,  it  is  quite  possible  to  reach 
the  southern  limits  of  Georgia.  Most  of  this  route  is 
travelled  in  the  manner  I  have  described,  and  the  rest 
of  it  is  daily  getting  to  be  more  so. 

The  internal  commerce  of  America  exists  with  the 
least  possible  encumbrance.  It  is  conducted  chiefly 
by  water,  and  an  immense  deal  of  it  is  done  coast 
wise,  by  means  of  the  rivers,  that  are  so  many  arte 
ries  penetrating  the  country  in  every  direction.  A 
license  costs  a  few  dollars,  (two  I  believe,)  and  when 
a  vessel  is  provided  with  such  a  document,  there  is  no 
impediment  to  its  passage  into  any  of  the  public  wa 
ters  of -the  country.  The  whole  confederation  is  un 
qualifiedly  one  nation  in  respect  to  commerce. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  is  also  mak  * 
ing  certain  military  roads  that  are  intended  to  inter 
sect  the  country  in  those  directions  in -which  water 
does  not  flow.  In  addition  to  these  improvements, 
States  and  chartered  companies  are  effecting  a  vast 
deal  more  in  the  same  way,  that  I  have  neither  the 
room  nor  the  knowledge  necessary  to  communicate. 
As  the  debt  is  discharged,  and  larger  sums  come  into 
the  disposal  of  Congress,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that 
they  will  increase  the  expenditures,  by  advancing  the 
improvement  of  the  country  in  all  things  that  properly 
Tbelong  to  their  power. 

In  manufactures,  the  Americans  have  made  im 
mense  progress,  since  their  separation  from  the  mother 
country.  The  great  Lord  Chatham  declared  it  should 
be  tfye  policy  of  England  to  prevent  her  colonies  from 
manufacturing  even  a  hobnail;  and  this  plan  of  mo 
nopolizing  wealth  was  tolerably  successful,  so  long 
as  the  Americans  were  dependent  on  England,  and 
even  for  many  years  afterwards.  But,  although  the 
importations  of  this  country,  for  home  consumption, 


A    SUMMARY.  665 

are  greater  now  than  they  ever  have  been,  its  own 
manufactures  have  increased  fifty-fold. 

The  question  of  protecting  manufactures  hy  legis 
lative  enactments,  is  the  one  which  involves  more 
political  warmth,  at  the  present  time,  than  any  other 
question  of  mere  policy.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said  to 
be  the  only  one.  The  disputants  are  chiefly  men  that 
are  immediately  interested  in  the  result,  though  it  is 
certain,  that  a  few  leading  politicians  adopt  the  op 
posite  sides  on  policy  or  on  principle.  The  only  real 
point  in  dispute  is,  whether  America  has  reached  the 
period  when  it  has  become  her  interest  to  encourage 
her  manufactures,  at  some  little  expense  to  her  com 
merce,  or  rather  at  some  little  expense  and  loss  to 
those  who  are  engaged  in  particular  branches  of 
commerce,  since  it  is  obvious  that  nothing  can  have 
a  greater  tendency  to  increase  the  trade  between  dif 
ferent  sections  of  a  country  like  this,  than  increasing 
its  objects.  A  vast  deal  is  said,  pro  and  con,  on  this 
subject.  One  party  contends  that  it  will  destroy  the 
shipping,  and  prove  fatal  to  the  revenue.  If  this 
reasoning  be  true,  then  the  time  is  inevitable  when 
the  shipping  and  revenue  of  the  United  States  must 
disappear,  for  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  the 
time  will  come,  when  a  vast  proportion  of  their 
population  will  find  that  no  great  community  can 
exist  in  prosperity,  without  a  division  of  employment. 
But  it  is  plain  that  these  partisans  utter  absurdities, 
since  it  is  a  matter  of  perfect  indifference  to  the  citi 
zen  to  whom  or  by  what  process  he  pays  the  dollar 
of  duty  that  he  is  now  obliged  to  pay  for  his  coat. 
If  the  collector  of  some  port  does  not  receive  it, 
some  other  collector  can  and  will.  But  this  dollar 
will  be  paid  on  an  increased  price,  since  the  Ameri 
can  manufacturer  cannot  put  his  goods  in  the  market 
as  cheap  as  the  foreign  manufacturer,  or  he  would 
not  ask  for  protection.  This  may  be  true  at  the  mo 
ment,  and  I  am  of  opinion,  that,  with  the  exception 
3  La 


666  A    SUMMARY. 

of  articles  that  are  deemed  important  to  defence,  and 
perhaps  to  certain  articles  that  require  some  little 
time  to  give  them  the  perfection  necessary  to  compe 
tition,  no  laws  will  be  passed  immediately  on  the  sub 
ject.  The  question  of  manufactures  is,  however, 
clearly  one  of  interest.  Of  their  usefulness,  and  of 
their  being  one  of  the  most  active  agents  of  wealth, 
as  well  as  of  the  comfort  of  society,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  It  is  therefore  like  so  many  other  questions 
in  America,  purely  one  of  time.  Although  it  may  not 
accord  with  her  policy  this  year,  to  encourage  them, 
or  for  her  citizens  to  embark  in  them,  the  result  is 
inevitable.  A  nation  that  lives  as  fast  as  this,  does, 
not  compute  time  by  ordinary  calculations.  Fifty 
years  ago,  they  manufactured  next  to  nothing.  They 
now  manufacture  almost  every  article  of  familiar  use, 
-and  very  many  of  them,  much  better  than  the  arti 
cles  that  are  imported.  They  even  begin  to  export. 
The  coarse  cotton  goods  of  this  country  are  already 
sent  to  South  America,  and  I  am  told  that  they  are 
preferred  to  the  British.  Importations  of  coarse  cot 
tons  from  India  have  entirely  ceased;  and  indeed  ] 
was  assured  that  their  coarse  cottons  were  greatly 
preferred  in  their  own  markets  to  any  other. 

The  American  manufacturer  has  to  contend  with 
one  difficulty,  that  is  not  known  to  the  manufacturers 
of  other  countries.  The  unobstructed  commerce  of 
the  United  States  admits  of  importations  from  all 
quarters,  and  of  course  the  consumer  is  accustomed 
to  gratify  his  taste  with  the  best  articles.  A  French 
duke  might  be  content  to  use  a  French  knife  or  a 
French  lock ;  but  an  American  merchant  would  re 
ject  both :  he  knows  that  the  English  are  better.  On 
the  other  hand,  an  English  duchess  (unless  she  could 
smuggle  a  little)  might  be  content  with  an  English 
silk  ;  but  an  American  lady  would  openly  dress  her 
self  in  silk  manufactured  at  Lyons.  The  same  is 
true  of  hundreds  of  other  articles.  The  American 


A    SUMMARY.  667 

manufacturer  is  therefore  compelled  to  start  into  ex 
istence  full  grown,  or  nearly  so,  in  order  to  command 
success.  I  think  this  peculiarity  will  have,  and  has 
had,  the  effect  to  retard  the  appearance  of  articles 
manufactured  in  the  country,  though  it  will  make 
their  final  success  as  sure  as  their  appearance  will  be 
sudden. 

It  is  impossible  to  speak  with  certainty  on  the  de 
tails  of  a  question  so  complicated.  A  thousand  articles 
are  manufactured  already,  and  may  be  considered  as 
established.  Twenty  years  ago,  the  Americans  im 
ported  all  their  good  hats ;  fifteen  years  ago,  they 
imported  most  of  their  coarse  cottons  ;  and  ten  years 
ago,  they  imported  most,  if  not  all,  of  their  fine  glass 
and  ornamental  hardware,  such  as  fire-grates,  &c. 
A  vast  deal  of  these  importations  have  ceased,  and  I 
am  told  that,  considering  the  increase  of  the  consum 
ers,  they  are  diminishing  daily. 

Though  tffe  particular  matter  that  is  now  in  dis 
pute  may  be  one  of  deep  interest  to  certain  mer 
chants  and  manufacturers,  it  is  clearly  not  the  main 
question.  Manufacturing  is  a  pursuit  so  natural,  and 
one  so  evidently  necessary  to  all  extended  communi 
ties,  that  its  adoption  is  inevitable  at  some  day  or 
other.  The  policy  of  the  Americans  wisely  leaves 
them,  in  all  cases  except  those  of  extraordinary  ne 
cessity,  (which  become  exceptions  of  course,)  to  the 
operation  of  natural  influences.  Policy  will,  nineteen 
times  in  twenty,  indicate  its  own  wants.  If  it  be  ad 
mitted  that  a  people,  who  possess  the  raw  materials 
in  abundance,  who  enjoy  the  fruits  of  the  earth  to  an 
excess  that  renders  their  cultivation  little  profitable, 
must  have  recourse  to  their  ingenuity,  and  to  their 
industry,  to  find  new  employments  and  different 
sources  of  wealth,  then  the  Americans  must  become 
manufacturers.  When  the  true  hour  shall  arrive,  it 
will  be  vain  to  utter  speculative  reasons,  for  the 
wants  of  the  nation  will  work  out  their  own  cure. 


668  A    SUMMARY. 

If  restrictive  laws  shall  be  necessary  to  effect  it,  the 
people  will  allow  of  a  lesser  evil  to  get  rid  of  a 
greater.  When  the  manufacturers  of  America  have 
once  got  fairly  established,  so  that  practice  has  given 
them  skill,  and  capital  has  accumulated  a  little,  there 
will  be  no  fear  of  foreign  competition.  The  exceed 
ing  ingenuity  and  wonderful  aptitude  of  these  people 
will  give  them  the  same  superiority  in  the  fabrication 
of  a  button  or  of  a  yard  of  cloth,  as  they  now  pos 
sess  in  the  construction  of  a  ship,  or  as  they  have 
manifested  that  they  possess  in  the  construction  of  a 
canal.  A  sufficient  motive  is  all  that  is  necessary  to 
'  induce  exertion.  They  have  taken  the  infallible 
measure  to  insure  success,  in  bringing  the  greatest 
possible  number  of  competitors  into  action,  by  dif 
fusing  intelligence  so  widely,  and  to  an  extent  so 
creditable.  1  think  that  most  questions  of  manu 
facturing  will  be  settled  practically  in  the  next  five- 
and-twenty  years. 

The  vast  extent  of  the  United  States  affords  all  the 
means  of  wealth  and  comfort  that  climate,  mines,  and 
other  natural  facilities,  can  supply.  They  are  known 
to  possess  lead,  copper,  gold,  iron,  salt,  and  coal. 
The  lead  mines  of  Missouri  are  very  extensive,  and, 
with  little  or  no  skill,  are  already  productive.  The 
gold  of  Carolina  is  probably  quite  as  abundant  as 
is  desirable.  Copper  is  found  in  many  places,  but  it  is 
not  yet  much  wrought.  Iron  is  abundant,  much  work 
ed,  and  some  of  it  is  more  esteemed  than  any  import 
ed.  Salt  abounds,  and  could  easily  supply  the  whole 
country,  or  even  furnish  the  article  for  exportation. 
It  is  not  mined  for  yet,  since  the  springs  are  found  so 
saturated  with  the  mineral  as  to  render  the  process 
of  boiling  and  evaporation  more  profitable.  Coal 
exists  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  procured, 
however,  chiefly  in  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  Rhode 
Island.,  It  is  of  various  kinds,  and  of  different  degrees 
of  excellence;  That  most  in  use  is  of  the  class  an 


A    SUMMARY.  669 

thracite.  Of  this  species  there  are  several  gradations 
of  quality.  That  of  Pennsylvania  is  said  to  be  the 
best.  Mountains  of  coal  exist  in  that  State,  and  the 
people  of  the  growing  manufacturing  town  of  Pitts 
burgh  cut  it  out  of  the  hills  with  as  much  facility  as 
they  would  bring  away  an  equal  weight  of  dirt.  Ca 
nals  and  railways  are  made  to  several  of  the  coal 
mines,  or  rather  coal  mountains,  and  domestic  coal  is 
getting  into  very  general  use.  The  coal  of  eastern 
Pennsylvania  is  most  fortunately  placed.  It  lies  within 
sixty  or  seventy  miles  of  Philadelphia,  to  which  place 
it  is  already  conveyed  by  water.  Philadelphia  has  a 
large  capital,  is  now  a  great  manufacturing  town,  and 
will  probably  be  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world  in 
the  course  of  half  a  century.  When  at  Philadelphia, 
coal,  or  any  thing  else,  can  be  carried  by  water  to 
any  part  of  the  country  which  has  a  water  commu 
nication  with  the  ocean. 

The  cultivation  of  the  vine  has  commenced.  Wine 
is  already  made  ;  though,  as  time  is  absolutely  neces 
sary  to  produce  excellence  in  the  quality  of  the  grape, 
and  as  capital  is  still  easily  convertible  to  so  many 
lucrative  uses,  it  is  possible  that  half  a  century  may 
elapse  before  the  United  States  shall  export  their 
liquors.  That  they  will  sooner  or  later  do  so,  is,  I 
think,  beyond  a  doubt.  The  silk-worm  is  also  be 
ginning  to  attract  attention,  and  plantations  of  the 
olive  are  coming  daily  more  into  fashion.  In  short, 
there  are  no  means  of  comfort,  indulgence,  or  wealth, 
that  the  Americans,  in  some  one  part  of  their  coun 
try,  cannot  command ;  and  it  would  be  as  weak,  as 
it  will  unquestionably  be  false,  to  suppose  that  a  peo 
ple  so  sagacious  and  so  active  will  neglect  them  be 
yond  the  moment  when  circumstances  shall  render 
their  adoption  profitable  or  convenient. 

The  construction  of  canals,  on  a  practical  scale, 
the  mining  for  coal,  the  exportation  of  cotton  goods, 
and  numberless  other  improvements,  which  argue  an 


670  SUMMARY. 

advancing  state  of  society,  have  all  sprung  into  ex 
istence  within  the  last  dozen  years.*  It  is  a  know 
ledge  of  these  facts,  with  a  clear  and  sagacious  un 
derstanding  of  their  immense  results,  coupled  with 
the  exciting  moral  causes,  that  render  the  American 
sanguine,  aspiring,  and  confident  in  his  anticipations. 
He  sees  that  his  nation  lives  centuries  in  an  age,  and 
he  feels  no  disposition  to  consider  himself  a  child, 
because  other  people,  in  their  dotage,  choose  to  re 
member  the  hour  of  his  birth. 

How  pitiful  do  the  paltry  criticisms  on  an  inn,  or 
the  idle,  and,  half  the  time,  vulgar  comments  on  the 
vulgarity  of  &  parvenu,  become,  when  objects  and 
facts  like  these  are  pressing  themselves  on  the  mind! 
I  have  heard  it  said,  that  there  are  European  authors 
who  feel  a  diffidence  of  contracting  acquaintances 
with  American  gentlemen,  because  they  feel  a  con 
sciousness  of  having  turned  the  United  States  into 
ridicule !  I  can  tell  these  unfortunate  subjects  of  a 
precipitate  opinion,  that  they  may  lay  aside  their 
scruples.  No  American  of  any  character,  or  know 
ledge  of  his  own  country,  can  feel  any  thing  but 
commiseration  for  the  man  who  has  attempted  to 
throw  ridicule  on  a  nation  like  this.  The  contest  is 
too  unequal  to  admit  of  any  doubt  as  to  the  result, 
and  the  wiser  way  will  be  for  these  Quixotes  in  lit 
erature  to  say  and  think  as  little  as  possible  about 
their  American  tilting  match,  in  order  that  the  world 
may  not  liken  their  lances  to  that  used  by  the  hero 
of  La  Mancha,  and  their  helmets  to  barbers'  basins. 

*  Forty  years  ago,  no  cotton  was  raised  in  the  United  States. 


TO  SIR  EDWARD  WALLER,  BART. 


Washington, 

HAVING  given  so  much  of  our  attention  to  the  sub 
ject  of  the  sources  of  the  national  importance  pos 
sessed  by  the  Americans,  it  may  not  be  without  its 
use  to  devote  an  hour  to  the  consideration  of  the 
manner  in  which  they  will  probably  be  used.  The 
points  of  main  interest  are,  whether  the  present  re 
publican  institutions  of  the  country  will  endure,  and 
whether  the  States  will  long  continue  to  act  as  one 
people,  or  will  submit  to  be  divided  into  two  or 
more  confederacies. 

The  first  fact  that  strikes  an  intelligent  man,  in 
considering  the  structure  of  this  government,  and  the 
state  of  society  that  exists  under  it,  is  its  perfectly 
natural  formation.  It  is  scarcely  possible,  I  am  not 
sure  that  it  is  possible,  to  conceive  of  a  community 
which  has  attained  the  advantages  of  high  civiliza 
tion,  that  is  less  artificial. 

In  order  that  individual  efforts  should  be  excited 
(without  which  nations  must  inevitably  become  slug 
gish,  and  finally  barbarous,  though  dwelling  in  any 
abundance,)  the  rights  of  property  are  respected. 
Beyond  this  the  law  leaves  every  man  (the  slaves  in 
the  southern  States  exceptea)  on  grounds  of  perfect 
equality.  This  equality  is,  however,  an  equality  of 
rights  only ;  since  talents,  money,  and  enterprise, 
being  left  to  their  natural  influences,  produce  their 
natural  effects,  and  no  more. 

In  respect  to  the  continuation  of  the  present  re 
publican  institutions  of  this  country,  every  fact, 
symptom,  and  all  reasoning,  is,  I  think,  in  theifla- 


672  PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS. 

vour.     In  the  first  place,  they  have,  in  substance, 
continued  for  nearly,  and  in  some  instances  for  quite, 
two  centuries.    The  habits  of  the  people,  their  edu 
cation,  their  feelings,  and  their  interests,  unite  to 
preserve  them.     It  is  true,  there  are  not  many  in 
stances  in  the  world,  of  governments  on  an  extended 
scale,  existing  for  any  great  length  of  time,  in  forms 
nearly  resembling  those  of  the  United  States ;  but 
there  are  examples  enough  to  prove  that  governments 
have  endured  for  centuries  on  principles  that  will 
make  this  endure,  though  policy  were  less  active 
than  it  is  in  contributing  to  its  preservation.     We 
will  endeavour  to  find  some  of  them.     The  govern 
ment  of  England  is  representative,  and  to  a  great 
degree  it  is  free ;  that  is  to  say,  it  is  a  government 
of  laws,  instead  of  being  a  government  of  will,  which 
I  take  it  constitutes  the  essential  difference  between 
liberty  and  despotism.     Now,  the  main  point  of  dif 
ference  between  the  government  of  England,  and 
that  of  the  United  States,  is  in  the  bodies  that  are 
the  respective  repositories  of  power.     In  the  former 
country,  the  power  is  in  the  aristocracy;  in  the  lat 
ter  country,  it  is  in  the  people.     That  the  latter  is 
more  natural,  is  sufficiently  evident,  from  the  fact  that 
England  itself  has  been  quietly  tending  towards  the 
same  result,  during  two  centuries,  .under  circum 
stances  that  have  been  calculated  to  bring  natural 
influences  into  play.     It  is  true,  that  the  power  still 
rests  in  the  aristocracy,  but  it  is  not  an  aristocracy 
that  is  exclusive.     To  speak  of  the  governing  aris 
tocracy  of  England,  as  a  class  of  nobles,  is  absurd ; 
it  is  the  aristocracy  of  wealth,  of  talents,  and  of  en 
terprise,  that  rules  Great  Britain.  Were  the  avenues 
to  political  power    closed  against  the  approach  of 
new  aspirants,  the  government  of  Great  Britain  wrould 
be  overturned  in  a  dozen  years.     It  is  not  in  the 
power  of  art  to  repress  the  energy  of  natural  in 
fluences,  when  they  have  once  gathered  head.    The 


PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS.  673 

effect  of  vast  commerce,  of  intelligence  diffused  to  a 
certain  degree,  and  of  individual  enterprise,  has  been 
to  wrest  the  power  from  the  crown,  to  curtail  its  in 
fluence  in  the  lords,  and  to  repose  most  of  its  exercise 
in  the  commons.  Now,  all  that  democracy  can  do 
without  recourse  to  violence  in  England,  is  here 
done,  because  it  is  obeying  a  natural  law.  But  the 
very  difficulty  which  is  found  in  effecting  a  final  tri 
umph,  (as  by  compelling  the  lords  to  acquiesce  at 
all  times  in  the  wishes  of  the  commons,)  proves  the 
difficulty  of  completely  wresting  power  from  those 
who  hold  it,  though  they  may  happen  to  be  the  few. 
So  far  it  is  an  argument  in  favour  of  the  perpetuity 
of  the  American  democracies,  for  they,  too,  are  used 
to  the  authority  of  the  people.  Still,  public  opinion, 
which  is  no  more  than  popular  law,  is  so  triumphant, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  a  question  on  which 
a  clear  majority  of  the  people  of  England  should  be 
decidedly  united,  that  the  three  estates  would  incui 
the  risk  of  opposing.  Let  us  turn  the  picture  to  the 
side  of  America. 

Here  we  have  a  government  in  which  the  people 
are  the  sources  of  power.  The  state  of  society  is 
precisely  that  (though  in  a  still  higher  degree)  which 
in  England  has  wrought  a  change  from  absolute  mon 
archy  to  a  species  of  qualified  aristocracy.  Instead 
of  waiting  for  the  march  of  natural  events,  circum 
stances  permitted  that  they  should  be  anticipated. 
They  have  been  anticipated,  and  so  far  from  a  reac 
tion  being  the  result,  greater  harmony  is  daily  occur 
ring  between  causes  and  effects,  as  the  government 
gets  more  adapted  to  practical  objects. 

I  see  but  one  possible  manner  in  which  the  people 
of  the  United  States  can  ever  lose  any  of  their  liberty. 
They  may  enact  laws  of  a  more  rigid  character  as 
the  advancement  or  corruption  of  society  shall  re 
quire  them,  and  they  may  possibly  be  driven  to  some 
slight  curtailments  of  the  franchise  for  the  same 
3M 


674  PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS. 

reason ;  but  this  will,  in  no  degree,  change  the  prin 
ciple  of  their  government.  By  losing  their  intelli 
gence,  the  people  of  the  United  States  may  lose  the 
consciousness  of  their  rights,  and  with  it  their  enjoy 
ment.  But  all  experience  goes  to  show  how  difficult 
it  is  to  wrest  vested  rights  from  communities. 

But  the  vulgar  argument  against  the  perpetuity  of 
the  American  government,  is  the  impossibility  that 
the  rich  should  not  govern  the  poor,  and  the  intel 
lectual  the  weak  of  mind.  The  continuation  of 
property  in  families,  and  its  consequent  accumulation 
in  individuals,  by  entails,  is  a  provision  of  aristocracy 
in  order  to  secure  its  power.  The  very  provision 
itself  argues  a  consciousness  of  natural  weakness. 
It  is  evident,  that  it  is  as  unjust,  as  it  is  opposed  to 
our  common  affections,  to  make  one  child  affluent 
at  the  expense  of  half  a  dozen  others.  No  man,  left 
to  the  operation  of  natural  feeling,  would  do  so  crue] 
an  act.  This  fact  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  ex 
ample  of  the  Americans  themselves,  who  have  a 
perfect  right  to  do  this  injustice  if  they  please,  by 
simply  making  those  in  existence,  and  who  have  a 
natural  hold  on  their  affections,  the  subjects  of  the 
wrong.  Still  no  man  does  it.  It  is  true  that  the 
father  of  an  only  son  might  create  a  sort  of  short 
entail,  that  should  work  injustice  to  descendants  he 
could  not  know  ;  or  a  father  who  was  educated  under 
an  artificial  system,  where  advantages  are  actually 
established  from  the  practice,  might  do  the  same 
thing ;  but  we  have  proof  in  the  United  States,  that 
the  father  will  not  do  it,  under  the  operation  of  nat 
ural  causes.  Now,  the  Americans  have  taken  care 
that  this  artificial  state  of  things  shall  not  occur,  for 
strict  entails  cannot  be  made ;  and  if  one  fathei 
should  be  so  obdurate  and  unnatural  as  to  do  a 
wrong,  in  order  to  rob  parties  who  were  strangers  to 
him,  of  their  natural  rights  to  his  estate,  he  has  no 
pledge  that  his  son  will  be  as  absurd  as  himself 


PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS.  675 

There  is  no  truth  more  certain,  than  that  property 
will  regulate  itself  when  left  to  itself.  It  will  change 
hands  often,  and  become  the  reward  of  industry, 
talent,  and  enterprise.  But  we  have  no  need  of 
speculating  in  order  to  know  what  effect  money  will 
produce  on  the  institutions  of  America.  There  are 
thousands  of  rich  men  here,  and  of  very  rich  men 
too,  and  there  is  not  a  class  of  the  community  that 
has  less  political  power.  There  are  many  reasons 
why  it  should  be  so. 

Wealth  gives  no  direct  influence  in  politics.  Seats 
in  Congress  are  not  bought  and  sold.  Then  the  owners 
of  great  wealth  are  two-thirds  of  the  time  more 
agreeably  employed  in  its  increase,  than  in  courting 
popularity,  without  which,  nothing  political  can  be 
done ;  and  there  is  also  a  reluctance  to  give  men, 
who  have  much  money,  places  of  much  profit  at  all. 
But  it  is  plain,  that  wealth,  even  supposing  it  could 
be  brought  to  act  in  concert  throughout  a  country 
like  this,  can  never  work  a  change  in  its  institutions, 
until  it  can  be  accumulated  for  generations;  and  that 
is  a  result  the  institutions  themselves  forbid.  Indeed, 
so  little  do  I  think  a  danger  that  is  so  often  named 
is  to  be  dreaded,  that  I  think  there  would  be  vastly 
more  danger,  that  the  people  of  a  nation  like  this 
would  find  means  to  strip  any  given  set  of  men  of 
exorbitant  wealth,  than  the  set  of  men  themselves 
would  find  means  to  strip  the  nation  of  its  liberties. 
Neither  case  is  likely  to  occur,  however,  since  the 
danger  is  scarcely  within  the  bounds  of  a  reasonable 
prolDability. 

Talents  may  unite  to  destroy  the  rights  of  .the  peo 
ple.  I  take  it,  that  talents  are  just  as  likely  to  regu 
late  themselves,  and  to  produce  an  equality,  as  money. 
It  is  not  in  nature,  that  any  great  number  of  talented 
men  should  conspire  to  overturn  the  government, 
since,  in  the  first  place,  it  would  require  an  improb 
able  unanimity  of  talent,  and,  in  the  second  place,  a 


676  PERPETUITY     OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS. 

majority  of  the  conspirators  would  be  literally  sell 
ing  their  birthrights  for  messes  of  pottage.  If  there  be 
a  country  in  the  world  where  talent  has  already  a 
certain  and  manly  road  to  preferment,  it  is  in  this. 
Under  the  present  system,  each  man  can  work  for 
himself,  whereas,  by  changing  it  to  a  monarchy,  the 
many  would  have  to  toil  for  the  advantage  of  the 
few.  As  to  those  inducements  which  are  known  to 
influence  men  in  Europe,  such  as  titles,  and  decora 
tions,  they  are  entirely  artificial ;  and  I  know,  from 
observation,  that  it  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to  get, 
even  now,  a  vast  proportion  of  the  Americans  to  con 
sent  to  use  them.  We  are  completely  the  creatures 
of  habit  in  all  these  matters,  and  it  is  the  habit  ol 
the  American  to  look  on  distinctions  of  this  nature 
with  a  cold  eye.  This  peculiarity  of  opinion  is  gain 
ing  ground  daily,  for  there  was,  for  a  time,  on  pre 
cisely  the  same  principle  of  habit,  a  lingering  of  the 
ancient  prejudices.  We  should  never  forget  that  the 
moral  influence  of  this  nation  is  beginning  to  mani 
fest  itself  in  stronger  colours  every  hour.  The  time, 
I  think,  is  near,  when  the  American  gentleman  will 
pride  himself  as  much  on  his  peculiar  simplicity,  as 
gentlemen  of  other  nations  take  pride  in  their  quar- 
terings  and  titles.  The  strength  of  this  feeling  will 
keep  even  pace  with  the  power  of  the  nation,  until 
it  will  become  difficult  indeed,  to  persuade  a  man 
that  glories  in  having  no  worldly  superior,  to  submit 
to  a  division  of  society,  that,  by  an  artificial  arrange 
ment,  sha'll  place  him  beneath  so  many  others.  You 
will  remember,  that  the  great  difference  between  this 
government  and  most  others,  is  the  important  fact, 
that  the  Americans  began  at  the  bottom  to  raise  their 
superstructure,  whereas  we  have,  in  nearly  every  in 
stance,  began  at  the  top  to  work  downwards.  Men 
have  been  elevated  towards  the  throne  in  our  sys 
tems  ;  but  in  what  manner  are  you  to  elevate  a  man 
who  finds  himself  already  at  the  summit?  It  is  true, 


PERPETUITY    OF    THE    IJ\STITUTIONS.  677 

that  if  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand  Americans  could 
monopolize  the  honours  and  emoluments  of  a  change 
of  government,  that  number  might  conspire  to  keep 
their  present  elevation,  and  force  the  rest  of  the  na 
tion  below  them.  But  a  thousand,  nor  ten  thousand 
men  of  the  highest  talent,  could  not  persuade  a  mil 
lion  to  give  up  rights  that  they  are  educated  to  be 
lieve  inherent,  even  if  these  ten  thousand  could  agree 
among  themselves  as  to  the  gradations  of  their  own 
rewards.  A  nobleman  of  France,  or  of  England, 
cannot  understand  the  sort  of  veneration  that  a  vizier 
feels  for  the  Grand  Turk;  and  any  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  sovereigns  of  these  two  countries,  to  bring 
the  peers  into  the  abject  submission  that  is  practised 
in  the  seraglio,  would  induce  a  singular  commotion. 
Now,  to  the  American  it  is  just  as  inconceivable  how 
one  man  can  yield  precedency,  or  respect,  or  sub 
mission  to  another,  merely  because  he  happens  to  be 
born  an  eldest  son.  You  see  all  this  is  artificial,  and 
the  fact  of  its  long  existence  in  the  world  establishes 
nothing,  but  the  opinions  of  the  world.  Opinions 
that  are  the  nearest  to  nature,  are  the  least  liable  to 
change.  The  world  thought  that  the  sun  moved 
round  the  earth  until  quite  lately,  and  yet  the  fact,  I 
believe,  is  not  so.  We  will  sum  up  this  argument 
in  a  very  few  words.  Ten  centuries  ago,  one  century 
since,  nay,  twenty  years  since,  very  different  opinions 
existed  in  Europe  on  the  subject  of  governments 
from  those  that  are  now  getting  into  fashion.  The 
tendency  is  to  natural  rights,  at  the  expense  of  artifi 
cial  institutions.  In  some  few  instances,  change  has 
been  attempted  by  revolution;  but  revolution  is  a 
dangerous  remedy.  The  Americans  had  no  revolu 
tion,  strictly  speaking ;  they  have  only  preceded  the 
rest  of  Christendom  in  their  reforms,  because  circum 
stances  permitted  it.  If  they  have  gone  farther  than 
it  may  be  wise  for  other  nations  to  follow,  it  is  no 
reason  that  they  are  not  safe  themselves.  So  has 
3M2 


678  PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS. 

England  gone  farther  than  France,  and  France  far 
ther  than  Sweden,  and  Sweden  farther  than  Russia. 
There  is  no  danger  of  reaction  in  America,  for  there 
has  been  no  blow  -to  produce  the  rebound.  The 
progress  has  been  steady  and  natural ;  and  there  must 
be  a  gradual  return  to  the  ignorance  of  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries,  to  effect  any  material 
change.  It  is  odd  enough,  that  in  an  age  when  even 
despotism  is  fettered  by  public  opinion,  men  should 
affect  to  believe  that  a  people  who  feel  its  influence 
more  than  any  other,  who  have  fortified  their  insti 
tutions  by  law,  by  habit,  and  by  common  sense,  are 
liable  to  be  affected  by  causes  that  are  hourly  losing 
their  ascendancy  in  every  other  country. 

I  shall  state  one  more  simple  fact,  leaving  you  to 
reason  on  it  for  yourself.  So  far  from  increasing 
familiarity  and  intercourse  with  the  system  of  Europe 
producing  any  desire  for  imitation  on  the  part  of 
those  Americans  who  are  brought  in  contact  with  our 
privileged  orders,  it  is  notorious,  that  it  produces 
quite  a  contrary  effect. 

But  the  question  of  infinitely  the  most  interest  is 
that  which  touches  the  durability  of  the  confedera 
tion.  It  is  the  only  one  of  the  two  that  is  worthy  of 
grave  comment. 

If  we  fix  the  habitable  territory  of  the  United 
States,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  at  1,000,000  of 
square  miles,  we  shall  not  exceed  the  truth.  By  giv 
ing  a  population  of  150  to  the  square  mile,  we  get  a 
gross  amount  of  150,000,000  for  the  population  of 
this  republic.  In  1850,  the  population  will  probably 
be  24,000,000 ;  in  1880,  48,000,000;  and  in  1920, 
near,  or  quite,  1 00,000,000.  I  do  not  think  there  are 
sufficient  reasons  to  distrust  the  increase  so  far  as  the 
period  named.  If  any  thing,  I  believe  I  am  mate 
rially  within  bounds. 

Now  the  first  impression  that  strikes  the  mind,  is 
the  impossibility  that  100,000,000  of  people  should 


PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS.  679 

consent  to  live  quietly  under  the  same  government 
It  is  quite  certain  that  such  vast  masses  of  intelligent 
men  could  not  be  controlled  by  force ;  but  it  re 
mains  to  be  proved  that  they  cannot  be  kept  together 
by  interest.  Let  us  examine  how  far  the  latter  agent 
will  be  active,. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  can,  under  no 
other  arrangement,  enjoy  protection  against  foreign 
wars  at  so  cheap  a  rate.  Aggression  on  their  rights 
will  be  out  of  the  question,  should  they  remain 
-united.  Should  they  separate,  they  would  make 
rivals,  and  of  course  enemies,  at  their  own  doors. 
Nature  has  adapted  these  vast  regions  to  profit  by  in 
ternal  trade.  This  species  of  commerce  can  never 
foe  conducted  on  terms  so  favourable  as  those  offered 
by  the  Union.  Should  they  separate,  a  thousand 
irritating  and  embarrassing  questions  about  the  right 
to  navigate  the  rivers  and  bays,  would  unavoidably 
occur,  which  now  are  unknown.  They  are  a  people 
of  peculiar  institutions,  and  vast  political  weight  is 
necessary  to  secure  the  proud  and  manly  population 
of  this  country,  the  respect  they  claim  in  foreign 
countries.  They  have  felt  the  degradation  of  being 
contemned ;  they  are  beginning  to  know  the  privileges 
of  being  respected ;  and  they  will  shortly  enjoy  the 
advantages  of  being  feared.  It  is  not  in  nature  to 
suppose  that  men  will  wilfully  and  blindly  throw 
away  their  superiority.  I  think  there  will  also  be 
an  outward  pressure  that  will  tend  to  unite  them  still 
closer. 

The  confederated  government  of  the  United  States 
has  not  power  enough  to  make  itself  dangerous  to 
the  rights  of  the  States.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  no 
more  than  a  representation  of  the  people  in  another 
form ;  and  there  is  little  probability  that  any  decid 
edly  unpopular  policy  can  long  continue,  if,  indeed, 
it  could  be  adopted  at  all.  Each  hour  lessens  the 
danger  of  particular  States  receding  from  the  Union, 


680  PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS. 

by  lessening  their  relative  importance.  Even  New- 
York,  with  ten  millions  of  inhabitants,  would  DP 
embarrassed,  surrounded  by  a  powerful  rival  of  fifty 
or  sixty  millions.  The  great  communities  would  be 
safer,  and  more  important,  by  exercising  their  natural 
influence  in  the  confederation,  and  the  smaller  could 
uot  exist  separately.  But  it  may  be  thought  that 
the  separation  will  take  place  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  divide  the  present  Union  into  two  great  nations. 
That  these  expectations  are  vague,  and  founded  on 
a  general  reasoning  that  may  be  false  when  applied 
to  a  particular  case,  is  evident  by  the  fact  that  men 
are  divided  on  the  grounds  of  this  separation.  Some 
;<ay  that  the  slave-holders  will  separate  from  their 
northern  brethren;  and  some  think  that  the  line  will 
be  drawn  north  and  south.  Now,  in  point  of  fact, 
there  is  no  solid  reason  in  either  of  these  opinions, 
except  as  they  have  a  general  reference  to  the  difficul 
ty  of  keeping  such  masses  of  men  together.  My  own 
opinion  is,  that  the  United  States  are  now  passing, 
or,  in  fact,  have  in  a  great  measure  passed,  the  ordeal 
of  the  durability  of  the  Union. 

As  to  grave  shakings  of  the  head,  and  general  as 
sertions,  they  prove  nothing,  unless,  as  they  often  dor 
they  prove  ignorance.  Forty  years  ago,  unbelievers 
would  have  shaken  their  heads,  had  they  been  told 
that  a  constitutional  government  would  now  exist  in 
France.  We  must  look  at  plain,  direct,  and  natural 
causes,  for  the  influences  that  are  to  support,  or  to 
destroy,  this  confederation.  We  can  easily  see  the 
advantages  of  the  connexion,  now  let  us  endeavour 
to  seek  the  disadvantages. 

The  first  objection  that  presents  itself  is  distance. 
But  distance  is  an  object  that  has  more  force  now, 
when  roads  and  communication  by  water  are  in 
their  infancy,  than  it  can  ever  have  hereafter.  Ex 
isting  facts,  therefore,  not  only  show  that  the  United 
States  are  sufficiently  near  to  each  other  for  all  prao 


-  PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS.  681 

tical  and  desirable  purposes  of  general  government, 
but  that  in  truth  the  empire  might  still  be  extended 
without  material  inconvenience. 

The  next  objection  is  the  question  of  slaves  and 
of  freedom.  The  control  of  the  slaves  is  a  matter 
left  entirely  to  the  States  who  hold  them  ;  and,  so  far 
as  they  have  any  direct  influence  on  the  durability 
of  the  Union,  it  is,  I  think,  in  its  favour,  by  adding 
an  additional  motive  for  its .  continuance  to  the 
southern  States.  One  might  acknowledge  a  danger 
of  a  difference  of  habits  arising  under  the  slave  policy, 
that  would  induce  a  dangerous  difference  in  char 
acter,  were  it  not  for  the  fact,  that  this  state  of  things 
has  existed  so  long,  and  that  the  people  of  the  north 
and  the  people  of  the  south  are  rather  assimilating 
than  becoming  more  widely  distinct  in  their  habits 
and  opinions. 

Next  comes  local  interest.  This,  after  all,  is  the 
only  point  worthy  of  much  consideration.  It  is  a 
branch  of  the  subject  that  presents  two  or  three  dif 
ferent  aspects.  That  of  employment,  that  of  geo 
graphical  inducements  to  divide,  and  that  of  minute 
separate  interests.  It  is  plain  that  the  people  of  a 
country  in  which  there  is  so  great  a  diversity  of  soil 
and  of  climate,  must  pursue  different  employments. 
But  is  not  this  fact  rather  a  motive  of  harmony  than 
of  dissension?  They  can  supply  each  other's  wants, 
without  incurring  the  danger  of  rivalry.  The  north 
ern  man  will  exercise  his  ingenuity,  and  will  be  the 
mariner;  the  man  of  the  middle  States  will  grow  the 
primary  necessaries  of  life ;  and  the  southern  man 
will  supply  both  with  luxuries.  The  manufacturer 
will  buy  wheat,  and  tobacco,  and  wine,  and  fifty 
other  necessaries,  of  the  Virginian,  Marylander,  &c. 
and  cotton,  and  sugar,  and  olives,  and  fruits,  of  the 
southern  man.  They  are  necessary  to  each  other: 
and  it  is  therefore  plain  their  interests  are  united. 

As  to  the  geographical  inducements  to  separate,  it 


682  PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS. 

is  impossible  (when  distance  is  admitted  to  be  con 
quered)  to  discover  more  than  one.  There  might, 
under  certain  circumstances,  be  a  reason  why  coun 
tries  that  lie  on  the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi,  for 
instance,  should  wish  to  be  under  one  government 
But  they  are  under  one  government  already,  and  by 
what  process  can  they  be  more  so  than  they  are  at 
this  moment?  The  Kentuckian,  and  Tennessean, 
and  Ohiese,  and  Indianian,  might  lose  some  advan 
tages,  in  the  way  of  geographical  inducements,  by 
separating  from  New-York  to  cling  to  Louisiana,  or 
vice  versa  ;  but  what  could  he  possibly  gain  ?  There 
might  have  been  a  danger  of  such  a  separation,  when 
the  outlet  of  the  Mississippi  was  the  property  of  an 
other  nation  ;  but  the  outlet  of  the  Mississippi  is  now 
the  property  of  the  republicans  themselves.  The 
citizen  of  New-Orleans  has  just  as  much  influence  in 
the  general  government  as  the  citizen  of  New- York 
or  Boston.  Independently  of  these  facts,  which,  I 
think,  contain  an  unanswerable  argument,  each  day 
is  so  ramifying  and  connecting  interests  throughout 
the  whole  of  this  Union,  as  to  render  it  difficult  to 
the  States,  which  might  be  thought  to  be  the  most 
exposed  to  what  I  have  called  geographical  induce 
ments,  to  make  a  selection,  even  in  circumstances 
that  should  compel  a  choice. 

The  control  of  minute  interests  might  easily  lead 
to  dissensions,  in  a  free  country.  But  the  natural 
and  exceedingly  happy  constitution  of  American  so 
ciety  leaves  the  States  the  control  of  all  matters  that 
do  not  require  concentrated  action ;  it  leaves  even 
the  counties  and  towns,  also,  the  right  of  controlling 
their  more  minute  interests. 

Now,  where  are  we  to  seek  a  rational  argument 
for  believing  that  this  confederation  will  dissolve  ? 
Its  plan  of  government  leaves  as  few  matters  of  con 
tention  as  possible ;  while  the  interests,  the  habits, 
the  feelings,  and  the  history,  of  the  people,  are  the 


PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS.  683 

same.  Moral  and  physical  causes  unite  to  keep 
them  together,  while  nothing  indicates  that  they 
must  divide,  but  sage  and  incredulous  shakings  of  the 
head !  I  make  no  doubt,  that  if  Coeur  de  Lion  had 
been  told  his  brother  would  be  forced  to  grant  a 
charter  to  his  barons,  his  head  would  have  been 
shaken  too;  and  that  Queen  Elizabeth  would  not 
have  believed  that  the  royal  veto  could  ever  slumber 
for  a  century;  or  that  Isabel  might  have  entertained 
rational  doubts  of  her  American  provinces  becoming 
more  important  dominions  than  her  own  Aragon — 
and  yet  all  these  things  have  come  to  pass !  Are  we 
to  believe  for  ever  only  what  we  wish?  We  are 
told  that  China  contains  a  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  people,  in  one  empire ;  and  why  are  we  to  believe 
that  semi-barbarians  have  more  wisdom  than  a  na 
tion  that  has  shown  itself  as  shrewd,  as  firm,  and  as 
constant  as  the  Americans  ? 

Let  us  give  one  momenf  s  attention  to  the  political 
history  of  this  republic  since  its  establishment 

Between  the  years  1775  and  1789,  a  confederation 
existed,  which,  though  it  imperfectly  answered  the 
objects  of  the  war,  partook  of  that  flimsiness  of  tex 
ture  which  has  proved  the  bane  and  weakness  of  so 
many  previous  political  unions.  The  Americans,  in 
stead  of  becoming  impatient  and  restive  under  ac 
knowledged  difficulties,  deliberately  went  to  work 
to  remedy  the  evil.  The  present  constitution  was 
formed.  Its  chief  merit  consists  in  its  yielding  to 
unavoidable  evils,  its  consulting  natural  objects,  and 
its  profiting  by  those  advantages  which  had  endured 
the  test  of  time.  This  is  a  broad  foundation  on 
which  to  repose  the  fabric  of  government. 

Until  near  the  end  of  Washington's  administration, 
the  Americans  were  scarcely  treated  with  the  cour 
tesy  that  was  doe  to  a  nation.  The  character  of  ttiat 
illustrious  man  lent  a  dignity  to  his  government, 
which  adventitious  circumstances  would  have  re- 


684  PERPETUITY    OF    THE     INSTITUTIONS. 

fused.  England  boldly  held  military  posts  within 
the  undeniable  limits  of  the  country ;  and  a  thousand 
indignities,  and  numberless  acts  of  injustice,  disgraced 
the  history  of  that  period.  Commanders  of  vessels 
of  war  exercised  a  lawless  authority  on  the  coasts 
of  the  republic ;  and  there  is  an  instance  on  record 
of  a  captain  of  a  sloop  of  war,  openly  and  insolently 
refusing  to  obey  the  civil  authorities  of  the  country, 
because  he  knew  that  he  commanded  a  greater 
nautical  force  than  that  of  the  whole  republic  united. 
At  that  day,  Europeans  generally  believed  these 
people  black  and  barbarous ;  and  they  listened  to 
accounts  of  their  proceedings,  as  we  listen  to  the 
events  of  farther  India. 

Then  followed  the  general  war,  with  its  abuses. 
The  vast  commerce  of  America  grew,  but  it  became 
a  prey  to  all  the  belligerents.  Acts,  that  would  dis 
grace  any  man  of  the  smallest  pretension  to  char 
acter,  were  committed  by  boastful  nations,  under  the 
pitiful  plea  of  power ;  and  the  complaints  of  a  remote 
people,  were  despised  and  ridiculed,  for  no  other 
reason  than  that  they  were  a  nation  weak  and  dis 
persed.  But  a  mighty  spirit  was  In  the  land.  The 
statesmen  were  wary,  firm  in  their  principles,  yield 
ing  to  events  while  they  protested  against  injustice, 
and  watchful  to  let  no  opportunity  of  regaining  their 
rights  pass  without  improvement.  At  this  period, 
an  immense  region,  which  possessed  countless  posi 
tive  advantages,  which  offered  a  foothold  to  rivals^ 
and  which  was  a  constant  temptation  to  division 
among  themselves,  was  peaceably  acquired.  The 
purchase  of  Louisiana  was  the  greatest  masterstroke 
of  policy  that  has  been  done  in  our  times.  All  the 
wars,  and  conquests,  and  cessions  of  Europe,  for  the 
last  hundred  years,  sink  into  insignificance,  compared 
with  the  political  consequences  that  are  dependent 
on  this  increase  of  territory.  Spain  had  been  acces 
sory  to  the  wrongs,  and  Spain  too  was  quietly  made 


PERPETUITY    OF    THE    INSTITUTIONS.  685 

to  contribute  to  the  peace  and  security  of  the  repub 
lic,  by  a  cession  of  the  Floridas. 

A  new  era  is  now  about  to  dawn  on  this  nation. 
It  has  ceased  to  creep ;  it  begins  to  walk  erect 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth.  All  these  things 
have  occurred  within  the  life  of  man.  Europeans 
may  be  reluctant  to  admit  the  claims  of  a  competi 
tor,  that  they  knew  so  lately  a  pillaged,  a  wronged, 
and  a  feeble  people ;  but  Nature  will  have  her  laws 
obeyed,  and  the  fulfilment  of  things  must  come.  The 
spirit  of  greatness  is  in  this  nation :  its  means  are 
within  their  grasp ;  and  it  is  as  vain  as  it  is  weak  to 
attempt  to  deny  results  that  every  year  is  rendering 
more  plain,  more  important,  and  more  irresistible. 
3N 


NOTES. 


NOTE  A.—  Pa™  426  and  543. 


SOON  after  the  writer  arrived  in  England,  he  read  an 
article  in  the  LXXIII.  number  of  the  Quarterly  Review, 
which  created  some  surprise,  as  it  imparted  very  different 
opinions  on  the  subject  of  the  United  States'  navy,  from  those 
which  he  had  communicated  to  his  friends.  The  article  to 
which  he  alludes,  professes  to  review  the  "  Personal  Narrative 
of  Travels,"  &c.  "  with  Remarks  on  the  present  State  of  the 
American  Navy,  by  Lieutenant  the  Honourable  Frederick 
Fitzgerald  de  Roos,  Royal  Navy,"  and  another  book  on  the 
same  country,  to  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  refer.  Anxious 
to  know  whether  it  was  possible  that  he  himself  could  have 
fallen  into  so  many  gross  errors  on  the  subject  of  the  Amer 
ican  marine,  he  took  the  following  plan  of  arriving,  as  near 
as  circumstances  would  allow,  to  the  truth.  He  sent  the  Re 
view  and  Travels  to  an  American  naval  officer,  now  in  Eu 
rope,  with  a  request  that  he  would  read  them,  and  favour 
him  with  his  written  opinion  of  the  professional  facts  con 
tained  in  both.  The  answer  is  below. 

"  I  shall  comply  with  your  request  quite  cheerfully.  You 
are  at  liberty  to  make  such  use  of  the  little  information  I 
shall  impart,  as  you  may  think  proper  :  though  I  have  sorno 
delicacy  in  placing  my  name  before  the  world  as  an  author, 
which,  as  you  very  well  know,  implies  a  pursuit  but  little  in 
accordance  with  the  education  and  habits  of  a  sailor. 

"  I  presume  you  do  not  intend  that  I  shall  touch  on  any 
matters  contained  in  either  of  the  works  you  have  sent  me, 
but  those  which  are  strictly  professional.  Were  any  one 
disposed  to  enter  into  a  critical  examination  of  the  Review, 
or  of  the  '  Travels,'  I  think  very  many  points  would  present 
themselves  for  critical  examination.  The  reviewer,  for  in 
stance,  might  be  asked  on  what  authority  he  pronounced  that 
'  ten  thousand  of  the  men  that  fought  at  Waterloo,  would 
have  marched  through  North  America,'  when  it  is  matter  of 
history,  that  twelve  or  fourteen  thousand  of  the  same  men, 
went  to  the  right  about,  after  penetrating  the  State  of  New 


NOTES.  687 

York  some  forty  or  fifty  miles,  for  fear  of  the  militia  of  his 
diaffected  New-England,  which  was  flocking  across  Cham- 
plain  to  oppose  them  in  thousands,  and  who,  forty  years 
before,  had  led  the  precise  number  he  has  named  (10,000) 
captives  to  Boston  !  I  had  thought  the  battles  of  Chippewa, 
Niagara,  and  the  two  affairs  of  fort  Erie,  to  say  notning  of 
Bunker's  Hill,  New-Orleans,  Plattsburgh,  Saratoga,  and  a 
multitude  of  other  places  and  events,  might  have  spared  us, 
in  1828,  the  vapourings  that  were  so  much  in  fashion  in  1775. 
t  incline  to  the  opinion  that  the  reviewer  is  no  better  soldier 
fhan  I  am  myself:  and  I  think  it  will  be  in  my  power  to 
show  that  he  has  not  the  utmost  possible  familiarity  with 
naval  subjects.  Mr.  de  Roos  might  also  be  asked  on  what 
authority  he  says  '  that  most  of  the  respectable  inhabitants 
of  New- York  are  seen  in  turn'  in  the  bar-room  of  the  City 
Hotel.  If  it  be  the  same  authority  which  induced  him  to  say 
that '  New- York  is  situated  on  the  Peninsula  which  separates 
the  Hudson  and  the  East  River,'  I  beg  to  assure  him,. that  it 
is  not  entitled  to  the  smallest  credit.  But  we  will  quit  these 
general  subjects,  for  those  on  which  I  am  more  particularly 
at  home. 

"  The  reviewer  commences  his  nautical  career  by  saying, 
*  It  is  not  for  us  to  decide  on  the  policy  of  the  American 
government,  with  regard  to  the  increase  of  its  naval  force.' 
I  take  this  to  be  the  least  exceptionable  declaration  in  the 
whole  article.  I  shall  pass  over  every  point  that  requires 
argument  to  support  it,  for  it  is  my  intention  to  deal  as  much 
as  possible  with  facts.  The  reviewer  says, '  it  will  require  a 
long  tune,  &c.  before  America  can  deal  single-handed  with 
the  navy  of  any  of  the  maritime  powers  of  Europe.'  Now, 
I  think,  the  facts  would  show  that,  England  and  France  ex- 
cepted,  there  is  not  another  navy  in  the  world  as  strong  as 
that  of  the  United  States.  '  Viewing  it  in  its  greatest  extent,' 
&c.  says  the  reviewer, '  it  (the  American  navy)  may  be  con 
sidered  to  consist  of  twelve  sail  of  the  line,  twelve  frigates, 
nine  sloops,  and  a  few  barges,  &c.'  The  navy  of  the  United 
States  consists  of  twelve  sail  of  the  line,  one  sixty,  twelve 
forty-fours,  three  thirty-sixes,  sixteen  corvettes  and  sloops, 
with  a  few  smaller  cruizers.  These  vessels  are  all  on  the 
ocean.  There  is  (as  you  say  by  an  error  of  the  press)  an 
omission  of  several  frigates  in  your  own  letter,  page  76  of 
Vol-  II.,  of  the  sheets  you  have  obligingly  permitted  me  to 
read.  Your  total  amount  of  our  marine  is  correct,  but  the 
omission  has  been  made  in  the  detail.  Considering  the  size 
and  condition  of  these  vessels,  what  other  marine,  except 
those  named,  is  as  strong  ?  The  reviewer  says,  that '  the 


688  NOTES. 

order  of  Congress  for  building  these  ships  (of  the  line)  limited 
their  size  to  that  of  seventy-fours,'  &c.  Now  it  happens  that 
the  limitation  was  just  the  other  way,  the  law  saying  that 
they  should  not  be  less  than  of  seventy-four  guns.  I  do  not 
understand  what  the  reviewer  means,  when  he  says  a  ship 
is  not  intended  to  be  launched, « being  built  under  sheds.' 
Does  he  believe  the  Americans  build  ships  to  look  at  ?  Next 
comes  a  minute  division  of  an  erroneous  account  of  our  force. 
(See  Review,  page  273,  near  the  bottom.)  One  instance  of 
its  mistakes  shall  suffice.  '  Of  the  twelve  frigates,  five  have 
been  built,'  &c.  The  United  States,  the  Liberator,  the 
Guerrier,  the  Java,  the  Macedonian,  the  Constitution,  the 
Congress,  the  Brandywine,  and  the  Potomac,  are  all  afloat, 
and  most  of  them  have  been  used.  In  this  detailed  account 
the  reviewer  rightly  gives  two  ships  rating  twenty-four  guns, 
*  but  which,'  he  continues,  '  can  mount  many  more.'  One 
word  on  this  subject  in  passing.  The  John  Adams,  twenty- 
four,  is  an  American-built  ship.  She  is  pierced  for  twenty- 
four  guns,  and  mounts  twenty-four  guns,  and  is  rated  twenty- 
four  guns.  The  Cyane,  the  other  vessel  in  question,  was 
captured  from  the  English.  She  mounts  thirty-two  guns, 
mounted  thirty-two,  if  not  thirty- four,  when  taken,  was  put 
down  at  that  time,  in  Steele's  list,  at  twenty  guns,  and  is  now 
rated  by  us  at  twenty-four  guns.  I  mention  these  circum 
stances,  in  order  that  they  may  be  proved  to  be  wrong  if  I  am 
mistaken.  Your  remarks  on  the  subject  of  the  rating  of 
vessels,  I  believe  to  be  correct.  It  is  worthy  of  observation, 
that  the  reviewer,  in  his  enumeration  of  our  total  force,  (page 
273,)  omits  these  two  twenty-fours,  though  he  introduces 
them  in  the  close  of  the  same  paragraph. 

"  I  am  well  content  that  the  reviewer  should  believe  the 
Caledonia  more  than  a  match  for  the  Pennsylvania;  but,  I 
must  say,  I  think  it  would  have  been  more  prudent  not  to 
hazard  any  prophetic  opinions  on  the  subject.  Ships  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  guns  seldom  lower  their  flags  to  opinions 
and  it  would  have  been  well  to  have  had  the  result  of  an  ex 
periment,  before  so  much  theoretical  confidence  was  mani 
fested.  I  have  not  the  smallest  doubt  that  there  are  many 
brave  men  in  the  British  navy,  (in  command  of  the  Caledonia) 
who  would  seek  a  conflict  with  the  Pennsylvania,  in  the  event 
of  so  great  a  calamity  as  a  war ;  but  I  am  quite  sure  that 
any  man  among  them  who  is  likely  to  be  successful  in  so  se 
rious  a  struggle,  would  be  conscious  of  all  its  hazards.  I 
shall  say  nothing  on  the  subject  of  the  reasoning  of  the  re 
viewer  in  relation  to  the  size  of  ships  and  the  weight  of  metal. 
I  am  old  enough  to  remember  very  similar  doctrines  much  in 
3N2 


NOTES.  689 

fashion  in  relation  to  frigates,  but  as  I  am  very  certain  that 
each  nation  will  pursue  its  own  policy  in  the  construction  and 
armament  of  its  vessels,  there  is  no  use  in  making  it  a  mat 
ter  of  argument.  If  there  be  any  thing  connected  with  my 
profession  for  which  I  have  an  especial  aversion,  it  is  whip 
ping  a  ship  on  paper. 

"  The  reviewer  is  just  as  confident,  that  in  all  the  naval 
battles  of  the  late  war,  the  Americans  had  a  decided  su 
periority  of  force,  as  he  is  now,  that  even  against  this  supe 
riority  of  force,  the  Caledonia  could  capture  the  Pennsylva 
nia.  I  am  content  that  he  should  think  so,  though  I  am  by 
no  means  disposed  to  give  implicit  credit  to  the  erudite  au 
thority  he  quotes  (Mr.  James)  in  support  of  this  opinion. 

"  There  is  a  remarkable  declaration  of  the  reviewer  (page 
278)  to  which  I  desire  to  call  your  attention.  He  says  that 
the  United  States,  being  an  agricultural  and  commercial 
nation, '  it  is  their  obvious  policy  to  avoid  war  as  much  as 
possible,  consistent  with  national  honour.'  If  I  were  not  a 
sailor  and  a  Yankee,  and  he  a  reviewer  and  an  Englishman, 
I  should  venture  to  say,  that  I  presume  he  means  '  consistently 
with  national  honour.'  I  give  you  this  little  grammatical 
flourish  much  in  the  same  humour  that  the  reviewer  gives  us 
his  professional  knowledge,  and,  perhaps,  quite  as  ignoraritly. 
But,  retreating  to  my  deck,  I  would  ask  if  the  reviewer  means 
to  imply  that  England  goes  to  war  for  other  objects  ? 

"  The  next  fact  that  I  shall  allude  to,  is  the  complement 
of  the  North  Carolina.  The  reviewer  states,  that  it  is  '  con 
siderably  more  than  1,100  persons.'  I  am  compelled  to  say 
he  has  been  grossly  deceived.  If  he  will  look  at  page  236, 
letter  B  [1]  of  the  documents  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navj 
for  the  present  year,  he  will  see  the  detail  of  the  complement 
of  the  Delaware,  (a  sister  ship  of  the  Carolina)  including 
every  person  on  board,  from  the  commodore  to  the  boys,  ex 
clusively  of  the  marines.  The  total  is  720  souls.  At  page 
257,  No.  I.  [1J  he  will  find  the  estimate  for  her  marine,  viz. 
117,  including  the  staff  of  a  squadron.  The  two  sums  to 
gether  make  837  souls,  which,  I  can  assure  the  reviewer,  is 
the  full  war  complement  of  the  ship,  with  a  flag  officer,  band, 
marine  staff,  &c.  &c.  though  liable  as  in  all  ships,  to  be  di 
minished  by  service,  or  temporarily  increased  by  a  few  super 
numeraries,  particularly  by  an  officer  or  two,  now  and  then. 

"  You  have  sufficiently  exposed,  in  your  own  note,  the  mis- 
take  of  the  reviewer  on  the  subject  of  the  cost  of  maintaining 
our  navy. 

"  Perhaps  the  most  singular  assertion  in  the  whole  article 
is  the  following :  '  The  American  timber  is  so  bad,  that  three 


690  NOTES 

of  the  line-of-battle  ships  are  already  in  a  state  of  decay.'  All 
good  American  ships  are  built  of  live  oak  and  locust ;  I  should 
be  glad  to  know  where  better  timber  is  to  be  found.  It  is 
true,  that  during  the  war,  we  were  compelled  to  construct 
several  vessels  in  a  hurry,  and  that  a  little  other  timber  was 
admitted,  rather  than  not  get  the  ships  in  time,  and  that  such 
timber  has  been  found  decayed.  I  write  with  a  detailed  re 
port  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  for  the  year  1827,  be 
fore  me.  It  mentions  the  particular  condition  of  every  vessel  in 
the  service.  I  extract  the  following :  '  Ohio,  seventy-four :  out 
side  plank  much  decayed,  from  the  rail  to  the  ways,  and  some 
spots  of  decay  inside,  in  the  plank  across  the  stern,  in  the 
ceiling,  and  gun-deck  clamps.'  '  Washington,  seventy-four : 
will  require  considerable  repairs  in  her  planking,  top-timbers, 
beams  and  floor-timbers:  the  copper  should  be  examined 
before  she  goes  to  sea.'  '  Franklin,  seventy-four:  will  require 
planking  from  near  water's  edge  to  the  rail,  and  an  examina 
tion  of  her  copper.'  As  these  three  ships  are  in  much  the 
worst  condition  of  any  of  the  twelve,  I  presume  they  are  the 
vessels  alluded  to.  The  foregoing  is  the  official  statement  of 
those  who  are  best  informed  in  the  matter.  The  Washing 
ton  has  been  built  fourteen  years,  the  Independence  thirteen, 
and  the  Ohio  ten.  If  the  reviewer  thinks  that  British  ships 
do  not  often  want  planking  above  water,  I  presume  he  is  mis 
taken.  But  the  Washington  is,  confessedly,  defective  in 
many  of  her  timbers.  The  Washington  was  built  in  the  war, 
and,  I  believe,  of  mixed  timber.  I  have  also  heard,  though  I 
will  not  vouch  for  its  truth,  that  she  was,  in  part,  built  of 
captured  timber,  which  had  been  intended  for  the  British 
navy.  A  sufficient  evidence  of  the  quality  of  our  timber  is, 
however,  contained  in  the  fact,  that  we  have  never  been 
obliged  to  break  up  a  ship  that  was  built  expressly  for  a 
cruizer,  larger  than  a  sloop  of  war,  since  the  regular  estab 
lishment  of  our  navy  in  1797.  The  Java  was  thought  to  be 
the  worst  ship,  of  her  size,  we  ever  had ;  but,  on  examination, 
it  was  found  that  she  would  very  well  bear  repairs.  But 
what  interest  has  the  reviewer  in  proving  we  have  rotten 
ships  ?  did  he  ever  know  an  American  offiper  apologize  for  a 
defeat  on  account  of  a  rotten  ship  ? 

"  The  next  topic  worthy  of  notice,  is  the  dry  docks.  The 
reviewer  proves,  to  his  own  satisfaction,  that  a  dry  dock  m 
England  costs  15,OOOZ.  less  than  one  in  America.  In  other 
words,  ten  of  these  dry  docks,  which  would  be  sufficient  for 
the  largest  navy  in  the  world,  would  cost,  in  America,  an  ex 
cess  of  150,000/.  I  do  not  see  that  the  point  is  worthy  of  a 
•discussion,  since  they  aie  not  perishable  things. 


NOTES.  691 

"  I  had  forgotten  to  comment  on  the  opinion  of  the  re 
viewer,  that  England  possesses  '  coal  and  iron  in  greater 
quantities  than  any  other  country  of  the  world.'  The  assump 
tion  is  a  little  gratuitous,  and  I  think  an  intelligent  e'xamina- 
tion  of  the  facts  would  convince  him  of  his  error. 

"  There  is  a  strange  perversion  of  the  frank  and  manly  ex 
position  of  certain  acknowledged  defects  in  our  dock-yards 
and  naval  system,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  secretary  of  the 
navy  to  make  to  Congress,  and  which,  I  presume,  he  will 
continue  to  make  annually  until  they  are  amended.  One  is 
tempted  to  believe  such  ministerial  candour  is  unusual,  or  the 
reviewer  could  not  mistake  its  motive.  A  wise  man  would 
l)e  induced  to  believe  it  a  proof  of  a  desire  for  reformation , 
but  the  reviewer  appears  to  think  it  infers  a  confession  of 
imbecility.  Perhaps,  however,  something  should  be  allowed* 
for  the  course  of  policy  pursued  by  the  two  nations  in  exec 
utive  matters. 

"  In  page  284,  there  is  another  gauntlet  thrown  (by  the 
reviewer)  from  the  Barhanl  ofjlfty  guns,  to  any  American 
sixty  gun  frigate.  '  She  (the  Barham)  being  in  all  respects 
a  much  finer  ship.'  I  shall  not  dispute  the  prowess  nor  the 
perfection  of  the  Barham,  though  I  must  still  doubt  the  pru 
dence  of  saying  so  much  about  them.  There  is  a  renowned 
dramatic  hero  who  destroyed  a  whole  army  very  much  in  the 
same  way.  I  cheerfully  acquit  every  British  naval  officer  of 
the  indiscretion. 

"  I  shall  venture  again  to  step  beyond  my  proper  limits. 
What  does  the  reviewer  mean  by  stating  that '  Diplomatic 
Treaties,  &c.  cost  the  United  States  5,140,099  dollars?'  (See 
Review,  page  285.)  He  foots  up  the  '  civil  department  of  the 
state'  at  7,155,307  dollars.  This  is  a  good  deal  worse  than  the 
Barham !  The  official  statements  of  the  whole  expenditure 
of  the  United  States'  government  for  the  year  1826,  are 
now  before  me.  The  whole  amount  of  the  '  civil,  miscellane 
ous,  and  diplomatic'  expenses  for  that  year,  are  2,600,177 
dollars  79  cents.  (See  Document,  page  35,  [4]  Treasurer's 
Report,  1826.)  I  follow  your  example,  and  extract  items. 
'Light-house  establishment,  188,849;'  '  Marine-hospital  es 
tablishment,  54,336;'  'Public  buildings  in  Washington, 
91,271 ;'  '  Stock  in  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Canal  Com 
pany,  107,500;'  '  Stock  in  the  Dismal  Swamp  Company, 
150,000;'  '  Stock  in  the  Louisville  and  Portland  Canal  Com 
pany,  30,000;'  'Payment  of  claims  for  buLdings  destroyed, 
per  act  of  March,  1825,  208,311;'  «  Diplomatic  department, 
152,476  40  cents;'  « Mission  to  the  Congress  of  Panama, 
9000;'  '•Contingent  expenses  of  foreign  intercourse,  18.627 


692  NOTES. 

&c.  &c.  All  the  expenses  that  can  by  postibilily  be  con 
strued  to  belong  to  '  Diplomatic  Treaties,'  &c.  are  footed 
up  separately,  and,  together,  they  make  the  sum  of  232,719 
8  cents !  !  The  miscellaneous  charges  are  also  footed  sepa 
rately,  and  make  1,110,713  23  cents;  and  the  civil  make 
1,256,745  48  cents.  I  do  not  wonder  that  a  writer  who  sees 
figures  through  such  a  medium  should  say  immediately  after 
wards,  '  it  is  the  obvious  policy  of  the  governing  powers  of  a 
country  like  that  we  have  been  describing  to  cultivate  peace 
and  amity  with  all  the  world.'  I  am  quite  of  his  mind,  though 
seemingly  for  very  different  reasons.  It  is  lucky  for  this 
writer  that  he  has  not  fallen  into  the  hands  of  one  of  our  reg 
ular  quill-drivers,  or  he  would  be  beaten  out  and  out,  nor- 
.  withstanding  his  singular  felicity  in  deciding  combats  on 
paper. 

"  Let  us  look  at  one  more  of  his  weak  points.  In  page  279 
he  says  we  expended  (he  refers  to  the  year  1826}  4,222,952 
dollars  to  support  our  navy.  He  is  silent  as  to  me  expense 
of  building'  ships,  though'we  had  several  frigates  and  ships 
of  the  line  on  the  stocks  that  year,  and  had  just  commenced 
building  ten  sloops  of  war,  three  of  which  were  actually 
launched  before  the  month  of  June.  Of  the  army  he  says 
nothing  for  that  year,  though  he  tells  us,  that  in  1824  it  cost 
5,270,254  dollars.  Why  he  selected  the  year  1824,  it  is  im 
possible  for  me  to  say,  when  the  reports  of  1826  were  just  as 
clear,  and  probably  they  were  before  him.  But  we  will  take 
his  own  premises.  His  American  '  civil  department  of  state' 
cost  7,155,307  dollars ;  his  support  of  the  American  navy  cost 
4,222,952  dollars;  and  his  army  for  the  year  1824  cost 
5,270,254  dollars.  (It  actually  happened,  including  fortifica 
tions,  Indian  department,  road  surveys,  &c.  &c.  that  the  ex 
penditure  belonging  to  the  war  department,  for  1826,  was 
upwards  of  6,000,000.)  Now  all  these  sums  make  16,648,513 
dollars,  to  say  nothing  of  the  expenses  of  building  ships  and 
forts.  On  the  same  page  the  reviewer  puts  the  net  revenue 
of  the  country  at  20,385,430  dollars,  which  leaves  an  excess 
of  3,636,817  dollars  for  the  other  expenses  of  the  govern 
ment.  Immediately  after,  he  says, '  the  public  debt  on  the 
1st  of  October,  1825,  was  80,985,537.'  This,  at  five  per  cent, 
about  a  fair  average,  would  require  4,049,276  dollars  to  pay 
the  interest.  But  he  admits  that  the  debt  had  been  diminished 
nearly  10,000,000  of  dollars  in  the  years  1824  and  '25.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  says,  page  6  of  his  last  report,  that 
in  the  years  1825  and  1826,  21,297,210  dollars  were  paid  on 
the  principal  of  the  public  debt.  I  should  like  to  know 
where  the  money  came  from,  since,  by  the  reviewer's  show- 


NOTES.  693 

ing,  the  whole  expense  of  the  government  exceeded  the  whole 
receipt  1,412,359  dollars.  If  he  believes  his  own  premises,  he 
will  at  least  allow  us  the  credit  of  having  a  very  clever 
financier  somewhere  about  the  Treasury.  But  I  must  stop, 
or  he  will  be  apt  to  think  that  I  belong  to  that  class  of  Amer 
icans  whom  he  accuses  of  indulging  in  a  '  cold,  calculating 
tone  of  argumentation.' 

"  If,  as  he  says,  the  government  of  the  United  States  is 
*  ostentatious,'  it  must  be  the  ostentation  of  this  cold  tone  of 
argumentation,  for  every  body  knows  they  get  very  little 
money  to  figure  with.  I  shall  not  animadvert  on  the  close  of 
his  sentence.  If  any  American  minister  at  the  English  court 
has  failed  in  '  courtesy  and  civility,'  let  it  be  proclaimed  in  a 
manly  manner  to  the  world,  or  spare  us  inuendos.  You  can 
not  expect  that  I  should  go  any  further  with  this  writer.  I 
know  nothing  of  boundary  lines :  all  I  hope  is,  that  they  may 
be  peaceably  settled. 

"  As  to  the  German,  or  pretended  German  author,  review 
ed,  1  have  nothing  to  say  to  him.  He  either  knows  a  vast 
deal  more  of  my  country  than  I  know  myself,  or  he  knows 
nothing  at  all  about  it.  Mr.  de  Roos  being  a  professional 
man,  and  coming  out  under  his  own  name,  is  entitled  to  more 
respect. 

"  I  think  it  unfortunate  that  this  gentleman  did  not  give 
himself  sufficient  time  to  make  his  observations. 

"  Mr.  de  Roos  is  hasty  in  his  inferences.  He  thinks  a 
dock-yard  was  placed  at  Philadelphia  because  the  people 
were  '  unwilling  to  be  behind-hand  with  her  neighbours  in 
the  possession  of  such  an  advantage.'  It  appears  to  me  a  suf 
ficient  reason,  that  Philadelphia  was  one  of  the  largest,  and, 
what  has  hitherto  been  an  object  with  us,  one  of  the  safest 
sea-ports  in  the  country.  Baltimore  is  as  large  a  town  now 
as  Philadelphia  was  when  the  yard  was  established,  and  yet 
Baltimore  has  no  dock-yard,  while  Portsmouth,  Gosport,  and 
Mobile  (all  three  quite  small  places)  have  dock-yards. 

"  At  Washington,  Mr.  de  Roos  entered  the  navy-yard. 
He  saw  the  house  of  the  commissioner,  (captain  of  the  yard ;) 
but '  could  observe  no  other  residence  belonging  to  officers.' 
I  take  this  acknowledgment  to  be'  another  proof  of  his  haste, 
as  the  master-commandant  has  a  very  neat  and  commodious 
dwelling  within  a  few  rods  of  the  other  house,  and  nearly  in 
its  front.  I  think,  too,  he  must  have  passed  the  extensive 
quarters  of  the  officers  of  the  marine  corps,  which  are  very 
near  the  gate,  and  before  which  there  are  always  sentinels. 
Mr.  de  Roos  is  mistaken  in  calling  the  inclined  plane  Com 
modore  Porter's :  it  was  built  under  the  inspection  of  Com- 


694  NOTES. 

modore  Rodgers.  He  is  also  unfortunate  in  his  opinion  of 
the  fate  of  the  Potomac  (on  that  plane,)  for  she  was  launched 
without  difficulty,  shortly  after  he  saw  her.  (See  page  17.) 
'  The  shed,  or  rather  houses,  under  which  they  build  their 
ships,  are  not  of  an  approved  construction.'  By  whom? — by 
Mr.  de  Roos  ?  Mr.  de  Roos  says,  '  It  has  been  the  fashion 
of  travellers  to  accuse  the  Americans  of  a  habitual  violation 
of  veracity  in  conversation ;'  but  then  he  thinks  this  accusa 
tion  is  without  foundation.  I  am  happy  that  he  found  reason 
to  think  so. 

"  In  New  York,  Mr.  de  Roos  describes  a  peculiarity  in  the 
construction  of  the  Boston  sloop  of  war,  on  board  of  which 
Vessel  he  unquestionably  believed  he  had  paid  a  visit.  I  can 
assure  him  that  the  Boston  sailed  for  the  coast  of  Brazil  some 
months  before  he  visited  New- York,  and  she  had  not  returned 
as  late  as  March,  1828.  Mr.  de  Roos  says  that  '  only  one 
vessel  (a  sixty  gun  frigate)  was  building'  at  New- York.  He 
is  again  mistaken :  there  were  two  frigates  (the  Sabine  and 
the  Savannah)  on  the  stocks  there  the  whole  of  the  year 
1826.  The  Lexington  and  Vincennes  sloops  were  launched 
in  March  and  May  of  the  same  year. 

"  Mr.  de  Roos  next  describes  the  Ohio,  74,  which  he  terms 
a  splendid  ship.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  a  professional  gen 
tleman  has  reason  to  be  pleased  with  any  of  our  vessels ;  but 
I  think  he  labours  under  some  error  when  he  adds, '  I  after 
wards  learned  that  this  vessel  (the  Ohio)  was  an  instance  of 
the  cunning,  I  will  not  call  it  wisdom,  which  frequently  ac 
tuates  the  policy  of  the  Americans.'  The  substance  of  his 
charge  is,  that  we  fit  out  fine  ships,  and  send  them  abroad  to 
create  a  false  idea  of  our  power.  Not  being  in  the  secret  of 
the  commissioners  of  the  navy,  who  select  all  the  vessels 
used,  I  shall  not  venture  an  opinion  on  the  matter ;  but  it  is 
clear  the  Ohio  has  never  been  used  in  this  manner,  since,  so 
far  from  ever  having  been  at  sea  at  all,  she  has  never  even 
been  entirely  finished.  It  is  also  some  presumption  that  he 
has  been  led  into  an  error,  that  the  Franklin  and  Washing 
ton,  the  former  of  which  looked  '  quite  small,  after  seeing  tho 
Ohio,'  have  both  been  much  in  actual  service. 

"  Mr.  de  Roos  is  wrong  when  he  says  we  pay  bounties  foi 
seamen.  I  presume  his  error  arises  from  the  advance  which 
is  always  paid  to  a  sailor  in  America,  whether  it  be  for  a 
vessel  of  war,  or  for  a  merchant-ship.  I  do  not  well  see 
how  he  can  be  right  in  supposing  that  the  recruiting  officer 
made  his  report  while  he  (Mr.  de  Roos)  was  in  the  yard, 
since  that  officer  makes  his  report  only  to  the  department  at 
Washington.  How  does  Mr.  de  Roos  reconcile  '  the  raw 


NOTES.  695 

recruits  from  the  inland  States,'  page  66,  with  « the  war  com 
plement  of  their  choicest  seamen,'  page  63  ? 

"  If  Mr.  de  Roos  is  of  the  same  mind  as  Mr.  Halliburton, 
(whom  he  quotes,)  in  believing  that  all  circumstances  go  to 
show  the  difficulties  of  our  having  a  navy,  I  hope  he  will  be 
disposed  to  give  us  the  more  credit,  should  the  result  differ 
from  his  expectations. 

"  Mr.  de  Roos  is  entirely  mistaken  in  what  he  says  about 
Boston.  Nearly,  if  not  quite  half  of  the  whole  naval  force 
that  has  sailed  from  the  United  States  since  1812,  has  sailed 
from  that  port.  He  is  also  wrong  in  calling  the  Natchez  a 
74,  when  she  is  a  sloop  of  war.  As  these  are  most  of  the 
naval  facts  touched  upon  by  Mr.  de  Roos  in  his  brief  account, 
I  shall  now  turn  my  attention  to  your  own  statement. 

"  I  have  already  noted  the  error  in  the  detailed  account  of 
our  force,  and  which  you  state  to  be  an  omission  of  the  press. 
Your  estimate  of  the  number  of  men  necessary  to  man  our 
present  ships  is  sufficiently  correct,  though  you  have  not  cer 
tainly  allowed  officers  enough.  The  ships  of  the  line  alone 
would  require  near  800  officers,  including  all  those  who  are 
commissioned,  or  have  warrants.  The  frigates  would  need 
as  many  more,  and  the  sloops  and  smaller  vessels  quite  half 
as  many  more.  Two  thousand  officers  would  be  employed, 
at  least,  if  all  our  ships  were  manned.  This  is  a  little  more 
than  twice  our  present  number;  but  it  is  intended  to  increase 
the  lists,  I  believe.  At  all  events,  we  could  at  any  moment 
create  the  necessary  number  by  promoting  qualified  mid 
shipmen. 

"  I  presume,  when  you  say  that  the  United  States  must 
be  admitted  to  possess  30,000  seamen,  you  mean  what  are 
technically  called  able  seamen.  The  estimate  is,  I  think, 
sufficiently  low. 

"  I  shah1  close  this  note  by  adverting  to  a  part  of  the  re 
view  that  had  escaped  me  in  running  my  eye  rapidly  over  its 
contents.  I  am  sorry  to  see  the  reviewer  treating  the  sub 
ject  of  impressment  in  so  cavalier  a  manner.  Of  course,  I 
allude  to  the  impressment  of  American  seamen  into  the 
British  service.  This  is  a  grave  question,  and  plain  dealing 
in  time  of  peace  will  be  very  likely  to  prevent  trouble  here 
after.  Though  the  reviewer  takes  it  as  part  of  his  premises, 
there  is  no  more  unsafe  calculation  than  to  believe  '  the  past 
will  speak  for  the  future'  in  relation  to  America.  We  do  not 
dispute  the  right  of  England  to  make  her  own  municipal 
laws ;  but  we  do  dispute  her  right  to  exercise  them  in  any 
way  that  shall  make  it  unsafe  for  an  American  to  navigate 
the  ocean.  I  admire  the  coolness  with  which  the  reviewei 


696  NOTES. 

says,  *  If  they  (the  Americans)  have  any  plan  to  offer,  by 
which  American  seamen  may  be  protected  against  serving  in 
our  fleets,  and  British  seamen  from  entering  theirs,  Great 
Britain  will  undoubtedly  be  ready  to  discuss  it.'  We  have  a 
plan  for  the  protection  of  our  seamen.  The  Pennsylvania,  and 
her  five  noble  sisters,  whose  frames  are  now  providing,  the 
Alabama,  the  Delaware,  the  Ohio,  the  New- York,  the  Ver 
mont,  the  North  Carolina,  &c.  &c.  &c.,  furnish  a  hint  of  its 
outline. 

"  I  intend  to  part  in  good  humour  with  my  unknown  friend, 
the  reviewer;  and,  in  order  to  let  him  see  it,  I  shall  give  him 
a  piece  of  perfectly  disinterested  advice.  If  England  wishes 
to  discuss  any  question  connected  with  a  right  to  impress  men 
out  of  American  ships,  the  sooner  she  does  it  the  better ;  for, 
in  a  very  few  more  years,  it  will  not  do  even  to  talk  about  " 


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UNIVERSITY  Ol*  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


